


we sleep where we want to hide

by kihyuks



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Insecurity, M/M, Monsters, Multi, Mystery, Polyamory, Self-Doubt, Small Towns, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 39,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyuks/pseuds/kihyuks
Summary: minhyuk lives with his two long-term boyfriends, changkyun and kihyun, in a small town in the south of england. their town is a completely standard town, nothing special about it, and nothing ever happens there. it's as boring as can be.but things change when residents start getting attacked in the middle of the night, rumours start to spread, and minhyuk, changkyun and kihyun take it upon themselves to solve the mystery of what's going on.
Relationships: Im Changkyun | I.M/Lee Minhyuk, Im Changkyun | I.M/Lee Minhyuk/Yoo Kihyun, Im Changkyun | I.M/Yoo Kihyun, Lee Minhyuk/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53
Collections: leviathanfest





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okie so this was meant to be uhhh shorter but. im a mess so i only finished one chapter n its mostly just setup bc i accidentally made it long as hell oops but!! i'll put chapters out frequently enough bc im a consistent writer so yeet
> 
> anyways me? writing changkihyuk? Unheard of. Completely unexpected. 
> 
> yes anyway i wrote another fic set in england bc home is easier to write <3 lmao but anyway i didnt go overboard w the slang in this one n the town is completely fictional as r all the places in it!! but there's other places mentioned that arent fictional

The usual sight greets Minhyuk when he returns from a long day at work. After he drops his bag off outside the door and dumps his shoes next to the shoe rack instead of on it just because he knows it’ll piss Kihyun off, he heads to the kitchen where he hears the sound of the extractor fan whirring. Kihyun’s standing over the stove and whatever he’s cooking (Minhyuk can’t see from the position he’s standing in) smells amazing. Changkyun’s sitting at their kitchen table, his glasses perched on the end of his nose, reading a newspaper. Soft music plays in the background. 

“Very domestic,” Minhyuk comments as he makes his way over to Changkyun, planting a kiss on the top of his head. 

Changkyun hums a satisfied noise, but makes no effort to tear his eyes away from his paper or give Minhyuk any attention like Minhyuk so rightfully deserves.

So, with Changkyun not giving Minhyuk what he wants, he moves onto his other boyfriend instead. Minhyuk wraps his arms around Kihyun’s waist and hooks his chin over his shoulder. He eyes up the stir fry that Kihyun’s moving around in the frying pan and feels his mouth water slightly. “Missed you,” Minhyuk murmurs into Kihyun’s ear.

“You didn’t tell me you missed me,” Changkyun pipes up. 

Minhyuk unhooks his chin from Kihyun’s shoulder to turn back and glare at Changkyun, but the little shit still hasn’t taken his attention off of his newspaper. Who even reads newspapers anymore? Changkyun sure doesn’t, so Minhyuk’s not sure what it is with his newfound interest in reading the news in physical form as opposed to, you know, his phone that’s a lot easier to access. 

“Of course I missed you,” Minhyuk retorts, “but you didn’t seem to want my attention.”

“I don’t want your attention, either,” Kihyun says casually, the first words he’s spoken to Minhyuk since he returned. “I’m cooking.”

Minhyuk squeezes Kihyun before letting go and stepping back in a huff. “It’s my birthday. I deserve love and attention.”

“No, your birthday is tomorrow.” Kihyun points his spatula threateningly in Minhyuk’s direction. “Go sit down and let me cook. Then after we have dinner you can have all the attention you want, okay?” Despite his demanding words, Minhyuk knows that Kihyun’s only doing it out of love. He hates when people interrupt his cooking and Minhyuk’s known to purposefully annoy Kihyun when he’s cooking, but today he decides to be nice and sit down at the table like Kihyun suggested.

Minhyuk stares at Changkyun over the brim of the newspaper and waits for him to put it down, look at Minhyuk, say  _ anything _ to acknowledge him, but Changkyun just acts like he’s not even there. He turns another page and pushes his glasses further up his nose, all without looking at Minhyuk once. 

Kihyun dishes up their plates at just the right time, stopping Minhyuk from kicking Changkyun under the table to annoy him instead, and places the plates down in front of each of their seats. “Drinks?”

“Water, please,” Minhyuk asks. 

“Boring,” Changkyun comments, finally putting down that damn newspaper. “Beer for me.”

Minhyuk snorts. “Beer is way more boring than water.”

“No bickering over dinner,” Kihyun reminds them as he sets down the requested drinks and then digs into his food.

Minhyuk grabs his chopsticks and takes a bite of his food too and barely holds back the satisfied moan. “This is so good,” he compliments.

“Thanks, Min,” Kihyun says with a small smile. Even after all the years of Minhyuk complimenting Kihyun’s food, he still seems just as pleased to hear it. Minhyuk means every one of the compliments he gives, too. They take it in turn to cook dinners as they all have to work full-time jobs and no one wants to cook after work, so only having to cook once every three days and reserving their Sundays for either a takeout or going out to a restaurant makes it a lot less of an annoying task to cook.

Years and years ago, before Minhyuk even knew Changkyun or Kihyun, he’d live off takeout most days just to avoid having to cook for himself, but when he’d met Kihyun he’d realised that cooking for yourself, despite being an effort and Minhyuk not enjoying doing it that much, was a lot more rewarding and healthier than eating takeout food day after day.

“Are you excited for your birthday?” Changkyun asks suddenly.

Minhyuk slurps up his noodle and it makes a horrible noise that he cringes at. “I mean, it’s just another day, isn’t it?” But, despite his words, deep down Minhyuk is quite excited for his birthday. It is just another day and he has to unfortunately go to work like every other adult in the world on their birthday, but Changkyun and Kihyun always go out of their ways to make his birthday special and enjoyable. He’s not sure what they have planned, but he knows he’ll love it regardless. 

“Hope you’re not expecting any presents. When you turn 25 you stop getting those,” Kihyun teases, but Minhyuk knows he’s not serious. Kihyun would never miss an opportunity to spoil the people he loves, and somehow Minhyuk’s lucky enough to be included in that.

He still wonders sometimes, even though he’s been dating the two of them for years, just how he got so lucky that the two best people in the world fell in love with him. He must’ve done something  _ really _ damn good in his past life to deserve it, he’s sure. 

They finish off their dinner and then sit by the TV all cuddled up together watching some random film that Kihyun had found on Netflix and seemed excited to watch that Minhyuk wasn’t really interested in in the slightest - not even enough to remember the name of the film - but Kihyun seemed to be enjoying it so he didn’t complain. Instead, he shut his eyes and focused on the warmth emanating from his two boyfriends as they sit as close together as possible. 

* * *

The shrill ringing of his alarm sounds and Kihyun is quick to shut it off before it wakes Changkyun or Minhyuk up. He holds completely still for a moment, waiting to see if either of them will stir, but both of them stay sleeping soundly and Kihyun breathes a quiet sigh of relief. He’d forgotten how loud his alarm can be and even if he decided to set an alarm for 5am, it doesn’t mean either of them want to be awoken so early, especially when neither of them, or Kihyun as a matter of fact, need to be awake for another hour and a half at least.

But it’s Minhyuk’s birthday and Kihyun wouldn’t be Kihyun if he didn’t get up earlier than everyone else to prepare for his boyfriend’s birthday and make it a special day for him.

As quiet as a mouse Kihyun slips out of the bed (thankfully Changkyun and Minhyuk had ended up just cuddling each other so he doesn’t have to do an awkward manoeuvre to escape from them) and out of the room, making sure to shut the door behind him ever so slowly because it has an awful habit of creaking. They should probably oil the hinges at some point. No one likes a creaky door.

Minhyuk’s presents have been wrapped and hidden away with the cleaning supplies (because Minhyuk wasn’t going to look there and Kihyun knows that he’s nosy and curious and will try to figure out what they are before his actual birthday if he finds them) for almost a week now. Kihyun likes to have everything prepared and organised in advance.

The one thing he was unable to organise too far in advance, though, was Minhyuk’s birthday cake. It’d actually slipped his mind to order one from a bakery until last night and by then everywhere was closed so now he has no choice but to bake one himself. It’s not too bad, though, because Kihyun makes a pretty good cake, even if he does say so himself, and he knows Minhyuk loves homemade things far more than store bought. He claims you can taste the love when food is homemade and although Kihuyn’s not so sure that’s true, he does try to cook homemade as often as possible because of it. 

Kihyun takes out each of the ingredients from the cupboards, but only finds an almost empty bag of flour and panics that he’s not going to be able to make the cake and Minhyuk’s going to have to have a sad, cakeless birthday. 

But, after rifling through each of the cupboards, he finds an unopened bag of flour tucked away in a back corner. That problem’s solved, then. 

Kihyun finds the biggest mixing bowl they own, which isn’t really that big when he thinks about it, but it’ll have to do. He weighs out the butter and sugar into the bowl and then uses the back of the spoon to mix them together. Since he hadn’t waited for the butter to melt at all it takes quite a bit of effort, but he can count it as his arm workout for the day.

With the butter and sugar mixed together, Kihyun adds in the rest of the ingredients without bothering to sift the flour or whisk the eggs together because, well, he’s kinda under time constraints for this cake and also just really can’t be bothered to do it quite so properly. There’s also the issue of their sieve just, well, being  _ gone _ after the Incident ™ last year. (No, he doesn’t want to talk about it.)

Once he finally gets all of the ingredients mixed together properly (by hand because their electric whisk has somehow managed to disappear) and poured into the baking tin and put into the oven, he relaxes slightly. It had only taken him half an hour to get everything done with the cakes which gives him at least another hour to cook Minhyuk’s breakfast and ice the cake. He’s got more than enough time. 

Kihyun remembers that Minhyuk likes to bring up that when he was a kid his favourite surprise in the morning was having pancakes for breakfast, so he figures what better surprise for his birthday than to cook Minhyuk pancakes?

He quickly whisks up the batter and makes each of the pancakes, placing them under a tea towel after he cooks each one to keep them warm, and then once he’s done he stacks them all up on a plate and then drizzles golden syrup over the top of them. 

The timer for his cake goes off just as he finishes, so Kihyun takes that out and leaves it on a cooling rack and then takes his breakfast creation into their bedroom to wake Minhyuk up. 

“Good morning, birthday boy,” he says as he sees Minhyuk open his eyes and look at Kihyun.

The way Minhyuk’s whole face lights up just at Kihyun making him pancakes for breakfast and bringing them to him in bed reminds Kihyun that sometimes he just needs to make a little bit of extra effort so he can see the smile he loves so much. 

“Thanks, angel,” Minhyuk says as he digs into the pancakes. Some of the golden syrup drips down his chin and Kihyun is quick to lean over, wipe it off and then lick it off his finger because, well, he kinda wants some pancakes too, but he only made enough for Minhyuk, so he’ll just have to make do with the tiniest bit of golden syrup. 

Kihyun looks to Changkyun who’s still lying down in bed but now with a pout on his face, his attention on the ceiling. “Why are you moody?”

“I want pancakes,” Changkyun complains. 

Kihyun rolls his eyes, but he still smiles. He should’ve expected this from Changkyun. “I made them for Minhyuk’s birthday. I’ll make you some on your birthday.”

“It’s too long to wait.”

“Here, have a bite.” Minhyuk holds out his fork to allow Changkyun to take a small bite of the pancakes and soon enough the pout on Changkyun’s face is replaced with a smile. 

“You’re so easy to please,” Kihyun says fondly. 

“And what about it?”

Kihyun doesn’t have an answer for that, and as much as he’d love to sit here and tease Changkyun for the rest of the morning and maybe steal a bite of Minhyuk’s pancakes himself, he still needs to get this cake done and get ready for the day before he heads off to work, so he doesn’t really have the time. “I’m going to get ready. Love you both.”

“Love you,” Minhyuk murmurs with a mouthful of pancakes, his attention focused more on his food than on Kihyun.

“Mm, guess I do too,” Changkyun jokes.

Kihyun pokes Changkyun’s forehead so he falls back against Minhyuk before he leaves to complete his morning routine and then get that cake ready for later.

* * *

“You didn’t have to do all this, you know,” Minhyuk says about halfway through their dinner at some fancy restaurant in town. They’ve never been here before, the prices on the menu always being far too expensive for any of them to afford, and Minhyuk honestly thought he’d never get a chance to eat here. He’s heard from coworkers and friends that the restaurant serves some of the best food, but he never really believed it until he got to experience it himself tonight. Sure, the prices are extortionate and he can’t imagine ever being able to afford to come here again, really, but Kihyun and Changkyun had really gone all out on treating Minhyuk for his birthday.

Not only had Kihyun made him breakfast in bed as well as a cake, Changkyun had treated him to a  _ really _ expensive watch he’d been eyeing up for a while, and now they’ve brought him to this restaurant. He knows the two of them have been working overtime to earn some extra money, but he never expected that it would be to treat him for his birthday, because it’s not like 25 is a special age or anything, but he’s so thankful for the two of them. He knows he has to go above and beyond for their birthdays to make up for it, but he’d already planned a weekend away to a secluded cabin in the mountains that’ll be just the three of them for the trip for Kihyun’s birthday (which is a surprise to Changkyun too, because even if it’s not his birthday Minhyuk can’t help but spoil the both of them), and he has enough time to come up with something for Changkyun’s birthday in a couple of months. 

“We did,” Changkyun insists, “We needed to show you how much we love you.”

Minhyuk could cry right then and there in the middle of the restaurant, but somehow he manages to hold back his tears. “I love you both so much.”

“We love you too. But hurry up and finish your food. It’s stuffy in here and I need to go on a walk.” Kihyun fans himself with the menu as if to make a point and Minhyuk just about stifles a laugh. 

He finishes up the last of his food and Changkyun and Kihyun cover the bill (much to Minhyuk’s protest when he sees just how much the food came to) and then they head outside into the streets of their little town of Mulwich. 

It being late in the evening, after hours of work for those with their nine to five jobs, the sky above is painted a navy blue, flecks of white dotted across it. Yet, despite the darkness of the sky above, the street is still bright and bustling with life. The streetlamps that line the edges of the street provide most of the light, but the bright, neon signs hanging above the shops help to provide just that little bit extra.

Minhyuk loves his town. He loves living here and everything that comes with it. Sure, it’s a small town, one of those places where there’s really only one highstreet with shops and restaurants, the one they’re on right now, and not a lot else other than parks, so many parks, and small houses dotted around the place. It’s the type of town where everyone knows everyone and news travels fast. If something happens, you’re bound to know about it within hours, because gossip spreads quickly in a boring town like their own where nothing out of the ordinary ever happens.

The biggest news that ever comes to the town of Mulwich is when someone new moves in. As they scour the area, trying to discover the place they’ve just moved to, eyes follow them everywhere they go and talk spreads fast. 

Over the years, more people than Minhyuk can count have moved to their town only to move out not long later from the judgement they feel.

Except it’s not judgement. It’s wariness. The people who live here trust their community, they trust the people they know, the families who have lived here for generations. Minhyuk experienced the stares, the whispering, the wariness. He experienced all of it when he moved here. You see, Minhyuk, Changkyun and Kihyun all met during university which they’d all attended in London, not in Mulwich. When they decided they wanted to move into their forever home together with all the funds they’d saved up, Kihyun mentioned his old family property that he could easily acquire for cheaper than anywhere else, considering his family want it to remain in his family, and it’s huge for the price they could get it for, which acres of land along with it to do with what they wanted.

Changkyun seemed the most reluctant to even visit, always such a city boy, but the second he stepped foot on the property Minhyuk knew he fell in love with it. It’s an old house, one that’s been in the Yoo family for generations upon generations, and there were improvements to be made, but it had a unique charm that they all knew they’d never find anywhere else.

That same day they signed the deal to buy the house.

But adjusting to life in a small town when moving from a big city had been hard for all of them, especially with the people of the town seeming so cold to new residents, but over time they’d warmed to them (which was probably helped by Kihyun making sure everyone knew that he’s a Yoo) and now Minhyuk feels like they’re truly part of the community.

“You’re off in your own little world there, aren’t you, Min?” Kihyun says, amused. He tugs on Minhyuk’s arm so he can hook his arm through it, his other arm already linked through Changkyun’s. “Let’s get walking.”

Minhyuk hums and the three start their casual stroll down the highstreet. Each building they pass Minhyuk makes sure to take a good look at, even though he knows each of the buildings by heart and doesn’t need to look at them, but he enjoys the memories that come along with them.

Crumbs, the bakery that they’d gone on their first date to when moving here is just up ahead, and Minhyuk smiles as he remembers that day. “You remember our first day here? And we wanted to go on a date and we picked Crumbs?”

“Oh, god, I wish I didn’t remember,” Kihyun whines, embarrassed. 

Changkyun giggles loudly, clearly remembering the incident too. “It was so funny, though.”

“Yeah, sure, hilarious,” Kihyun deadpans. “I never got that stain out of my shirt. It’s forever ruined.”

“Your shirt might be ruined, but at least you had a memorable first day here,” Minhyuk says. Maybe it’s memorable in a different way to Kihyun than to Minhyuk and Changkyun, but memorable nonetheless. 

They walk further on in a comfortable silence. More shops and restaurants pass by their view, and while Minhyuk has memories in each of them, none of them are quite so memorable enough that he feels the need to point them out. 

At the end of the street there’s a fountain that everyone tosses their spare change into with wishes on the tips of their tongues. Minhyuk smiles when he sees it. 

“I think my first wish here came true,” Changkyun says quietly, his eyes focused only on the fountain, but a rosy blush adorns his cheeks. “I wished that I’d get my happily ever after with you two. I think I did.”

“You’re such a softie,” Kihyun says, unlinking his arm from Changkyun’s to pinch his cheek.

“I think it’s sweet,” Minhyuk says quietly. When neither of them reply, he elaborates, “That you used your first wish on us and being happy. I think I wished for doughnuts.”

“Did you get your doughnuts, though?” Kihyun asks.

“I did.”

“Then all our wishes came true.”

Minhyuk frowns. “What was your wish?”

Kihyun taps the end of Minhyuk’s nose and grins. “That’s a secret.”

He’s done it on purpose, Minhyuk knows he has, because he knows that Minhyuk’s a curious soul and he’ll want to know what Kihyun wished for, but he resists his temptation to drag it out of Kihyun (he’ll find out eventually, he’s sure) and tugs Kihyun’s arm which is still hooped through his. “Let’s keep going.”

They walk further on, past the fountain, through the park and up to the huge, old oak tree that’s a few minutes walk away from their house. Minhyuk tries to keep walking on past it, but Kihyun comes to a halt which brings Minhyuk to a stop, too. 

“What is it?” he asks.

Kihyun peers up curiously at the tree. “The picnic tree,” he says simply.

How had Minhyuk forgotten? They’d moved in the summer (which is a terrible time to move because lugging heavy boxes around in the sweltering heat is not an enjoyable experience) and while they settled into their new home they tried to find things to do that didn’t cost much money because, well, moving into a new house wasn’t cheap, even with the discount, and they all wanted to build back up their savings that had been depleted. 

The shade of this particular tree became a lifesaver for them over the summer. Sure, there are hundreds of trees dotted all around the park and they could’ve picked any of them, but something about this tree felt special to them. It became  _ their _ tree. The one they returned to every time. It was often that they sat under the tree and had picnics, except they were never typical picnics. With them trying to save money they often ended up with the weirdest collection of foods with them as they chatted and relaxed in the park under their oak tree, but that made it just that bit more special.

Minhyuk smiles fondly as he takes one last look at the tree before they continue on their walk back home. 

He decides this might have been his best birthday ever. He was treated and surprised by his soulmates over and over again, even when they didn’t have to do a single thing for him, and he was given a chance to reminisce about his life through the years living in Mulwich, and nothing could make Minhyuk’s birthday more special than that. 

* * *

Waking up in the mornings is not Changkyun’s favourite thing to do and especially not when he has to be the first one out of bed. Usually he gets woken up by Kihyun getting up to begin getting ready for work, but then he dozes back off until Minhyuk has to get up, and then he still stays in bed a little bit longer to enjoy the warmth and comfort it brings before Kihyun comes to wake him up properly when he leaves to go to work.

Their morning routine hasn’t changed over the years, other than for special occasions or holidays, and Changkyun likes it that way. He likes the familiarity of the routine and he likes getting to stay in bed in the mornings later than his boyfriends because it means he gets to enjoy them being at home for the maximum amount of time he can, even if he barely sees them before work.

But today is different. Today Changkyun is the first one up and out of bed for a work meeting. He doesn’t have a fancy job or anything, he just works as an accountant because it’s easy enough for him and he gets a decently sized paycheck at the end of the month. He has no idea why this particular meeting is scheduled for before work hours, it’s rather inconvenient to his perfect routine, but he’s hoping he might be able to get a pay rise soon, so he’s not going to complain about having to be up a few hours earlier for the meeting. (Well, he will complain, just not so his employers can hear.)

One strange thing Changkyun noticed when getting out of bed, which required a lot of mental effort and then some more when Kihyun tried to pull him back to bed, whining about wanting cuddles, was that Minhyuk wasn’t in bed with them. It plays on his mind as he goes through his routine of getting ready for work. 

A frown comes to Changkyun’s face as he stands under the warm spray of the shower. Minhyuk had mentioned recently that he wanted to take up running again, but he used to do that in the evenings after his shift before coming home, not in the mornings before work. But, who knows, maybe he had a change of heart and decided that now that he’s a year older he’s going to try running at a different time.

Changkyun will have to ask him about it when he returns home from work. (He doesn’t ask in the end. He forgets.)

After his shower, Changkyun takes his sweet time changing into his clothes and then making himself breakfast, but he still somehow ends up being ready to leave half an hour before he actually needs to. He must’ve miscalculated the time or something. So, with his extra time, he decides to prepare lunches for Kihyun and Minhyuk because he knows they’ll appreciate it. 

It takes him no time to prepare sandwiches for them and leave sweet, loving notes on top of the tubs, and he’s still left with approximately eighteen minutes until he has to leave the house. 

So, Changkyun sits down at the kitchen table and he waits. For what exactly, he can’t say, but he waits. Maybe it’s to see if Kihyun will wake up early and stumble into the kitchen half awake looking for a coffee, or maybe it’s to see if Minhyuk will return from his run, all sweaty and worn out, and he’ll plant a kiss on Changkyun’s lips and mess up his hair before hopping into the shower.

But neither of those happen and Changkyun feels disappointed. He can tell himself he sat there for those eighteen minutes just to pass time until he had to leave for his meeting, but he knows it’s more than that. Something told him that if he sat there and waited, rather than leaving early for work and grabbing himself a coffee and treating himself to something nice to eat on the way, that something important would happen. Something that was worth waiting for.

Yet nothing did.

Disappointed, Changkyun leaves for his meeting. 

* * *

Minhyuk forgot he had the day off work. He’d gone all the way to the office only to get there and for the receptionist, Soonyoung, to look at him strangely and remind him that he doesn’t have to work today.

It’s not the first time Minhyuk’s done it, either, and that makes it all the more embarrassing. 

Well, since he’s already in town anyway, albeit in his suit he wears to work, he decides he might as well run some of the errands he’s been putting off. 

The first thing he decides to do is go to the bank to sort out getting a new card because somehow he’d lost his. 

“Good morning, how may I help?” the man behind the counter asks when it’s finally Minhyuk’s turn to be dealt with. Everything seems to move so slow in banks. Minhyuk’s sure he’s spent at least a day of his life standing in line at the bank at this point in time. 

“I lost my card, so I’d like to get a new one,” Minhyuk tells him. 

The process of getting his new card isn’t complicated at all and within a few minutes he’s on his way with a promise of his new card being posted to his house. The worker had also reminded Minhyuk that he didn’t need to come into the bank to request a new card, he could’ve done it online and saved the hassle. 

Minhyuk mentally facepalms himself for that one. Something about living in a small town has made him forget how easy things can be. With everything practically on his doorstep he’s never found it a bother to walk down to the highstreet whenever he’s needed something, and somehow it made him forget that yes, actually things can be done online. They are in fact living in the 21st century. 

With his bank card sorted, even if extra effort went into it than was needed, Minhyuk decides that he might as well do their weekly grocery shop. Usually they go all together at the weekend to pick up everything they need for the following week, but it’s already Friday so Minhyuk might as well just get it done himself. He’s already here at the one supermarket in town, anyway.

He grabs a trolley and starts down the first aisle of the store. Minhyuk realises, after putting in a bunch of random vegetables that he’s  _ pretty _ sure he’s seen in their fridge before that he’s not so good at doing their shop. Usually Kihyun picks out everything that they actually need while Minhyuk and Changkyun sneak snacks into the trolley when he’s not looking.

It’s a wonder to everyone how Minhyuk ever managed to live on his own before.

But, despite feeling overwhelmed with all of the choices that he has, Minhyuk does his best to add things that seem familiar and that he knows are part of their usual weekly recipes. He’s sure when Kihyun gets home later and sees Minhyuk’s grocery haul he’ll tell him all of the things that he missed and they’ll have to make another trip to the shop anyway, especially once Kihyun does his weekly meal plan (which includes planning which meals Changkyun and Minhyuk cook, because neither of them are very good at coming up with them on their own). 

The total ends up being one and a half times what they usually spend on their groceries and Minhyuk’s pretty sure he bought enough crisps to last them a year, but he likes to think he did a decent job. Now he just has to lug the bags back home with him which is the worst part of shopping. It’s so much easier with a car, but they all live so close to their jobs and everything else they could possibly need that none of them bother to drive and so they only own one car between them. And, obviously, Minhyuk hadn’t been planning to come shopping today, so he doesn’t have the car.

His arms start to ache as he carries the bags down the high street back towards his house. He can see now why they do this with three of them, because the straps of the bags are digging into his hands even more than usual and it feels like his arms could fall off any second.

As he stumbles down the street with his unbearably heavy bags, the harsh winter wind rushing against him and sending a shiver down his spine, Minhyuk spots Changkyun’s favourite bakery, Crumbs, the one they’d discovered on their first day in town. And when he sees the bakery, he can’t help but go in to buy some treats for both Changkyun and Kihyun. 

Crumbs is popular, not only because it’s the only bakery in town, but because everything that they bake there can only be described as perfection. Even people from the surrounding area and even further away make the journey to their small little town just to visit the bakery and pick up some of their world-class treats. 

Minhyuk’s never seen less than ten people in Crumbs at once and today is no different. He lets the bags down to the floor knowing that he’ll be in here for a while and pushes them further along with his feet whenever someone leaves the queue and he’s able to more forward a space. 

Minhyuk generally zones out the chatter around him, too caught up in his own head and thoughts to eavesdrop into mindless chatter of people both familiar and unfamiliar. Changkyun’s the observant one out of the three of them, always listening and making note of what other people around them say.

But today is different, for one reason or another, and Minhyuk finds himself listening in to the conversation happening between the two women in front of him. He recognises them both and he knows he’s said good morning to them on more than one occasion, but he can’t remember either of their names. He’s not so good with names. 

“They say it was an animal, but what animals do we have around here? Rabbits? A rabbit isn’t going to do that much harm to someone,” one of the women comments in a hushed tone, looking around to check for eavesdroppers, and Minhyuk is quick to divert his eyes down to his phone to pretend he’s doing something on it. “I think it was a person.”

“Who would it possibly be? Everyone knows everyone here,” the other woman argues, clearly not believing anything the first is saying. “He lived, anyway, so he’ll recognise the attacker and be able to tell us.”

“Maybe we’ll get our answers when he wakes up.” The conversation diverts then into something about a handsome young man who works at the police station. Minhyuk rolls his eyes, knowing that it’s either Kihyun or Hyunwoo that they must be talking about. Those two are always attracting the attention, especially from older women it seems. 

When the conversation changes, Minhyuk loses interest. Whatever they’d been talking about before, however, definitely  _ did _ interest him. What attack was there? He hadn’t heard anything about an attack. And an attack in Mulwich of all places? It just doesn’t seem possible. 

The attack stays on his mind all the way up until he orders his goods - two croissants and a cookie - and he can’t help but ask the worker, Junhui, who he’s fairly good acquaintances with. It also helps that Junhui loves to gossip, so it’s easy to get information out of him. “Hey, so, what’s with this whole attack thing people are talking about?”

Junhui eyes him suspiciously, but seconds later he’s leaning over the counter and gesturing that Minhyuk get closer to him. 

Minhyuk obliges.

Junhui speaks quietly as he says, “Supposedly someone got attacked in the middle of the night. Older man, don’t remember his name, but no one knows who did it. He’s alive but in the hospital. They’re thinking it was an animal attack, but I don’t know any animals around here that could attack a human badly enough to send them to hospital.” He pauses for a moment, considering. “Maybe we have a werewolf.”

“It wasn’t a full moon last night,” Minhyuk points out as if that’s the right argument against it being a werewolf and not, you know, the fact that werewolves don’t exist. 

“Huh. I guess you’re right.” Junhui considers Minhyuk for a moment. “Hey, isn’t your boyfriend a detective? Why don’t you ask him?”

“I only just heard about it. Haven’t had a chance to ask him yet.” Honestly, Minhyuk didn’t even think to ask Kihyun about it. Despite being a detective, Kihyun doesn’t really do much. There’s not much  _ to _ do in a small, quiet town like theirs. 

“Let me know if he has any top secret information about it,” Junhui says as he hands over the bag with Minhyuk’s treats, finally packaged. 

Minhyuk counts out the cash, finding that he has the exact amount, and hands it over to Junhui. “Will do.” He won’t, really, but he’s not going to say that. If Kihyun tells him anything, which is unlikely in itself as Kihyun takes his job very seriously, Junhui probably wouldn’t be the person Minhyuk would tell. He’s a great guy and Minhyuk enjoys his company, but he’s pretty sure half of their town would know about it before he could even blink. “Thanks, Jun. See you soon.”

“Bye, Minhyuk.”

Minhyuk puts his bag of treats into one of the bags of groceries, only adding to the weight of it, grabs all of his bags with a heavy sigh, and then sets off back home once again. 

* * *

Kihyun’s hand running through Minhyuk’s hair threatens to pull him into sleep, but he resists the temptation. Barely. Minhyuk’s eyes keep falling shut but as soon as he registers it he snaps them open once again and the cycle repeats. 

Sleep is calling Minhyuk, but he refuses to give in to it’s cries until he’s got a chance to spend time with both of his boyfriends this evening. 

Changkyun got home late from work, turning up after Minhyuk and Kihyun had started to eat their dinner as it was half an hour later than the time they usually ate and Changkyun  _ still _ wasn’t home. When he did return he was all flustered and apologetic as he’d been kept behind at work and there’s no way Minhyuk (nor Kihyun, he’s sure) could ever be mad at him. 

But then, as soon as they’d settled down in the living room to relax and have some quality time together, Changkyun’s phone had rang and he’s been stuck on the call ever since, and by the sounds of it, it’s with his boss. 

Minhyuk can’t imagine why his boss would even need so much of Changkyun’s time, but he knows Changkyun’s close to a promotion so he won’t do anything that could possibly jeopardise that, even telling his boss to end the call because he wants to spend time with his boyfriends. 

“I can tell you’re tired,” Kihyun murmurs and the hand that was running through Minhyuk’s hair stills. “Go to sleep.”

Minhyuk lifts his head ever so slightly, just enough to knock Kihyun’s hand slightly to get him to move his hand again. “Not yet. Later.”

Kihyun sighs but he doesn’t argue. Kihyun might be stubborn, but he’s learnt not to even try to fight Minhyuk’s own stubbornness. 

“When we’ve had some time with Kyunnie. Then I’ll sleep,” Minhyuk promises. He doesn’t even know why he’s so tired. Sure, they slept a little late the night before as it  _ was _ Minhyuk’s birthday and he wanted to make the most of his special day. And then he hadn’t been up any later than usual either, so it’s strange. “I think getting old is making me tireder than usual.”

“You’re less than a month older than me,” Kihyun reminds Minhyuk as if Minhyuk could forget how old Kihyun is. He holds it over his head that he’s the eldest, even by a mere few weeks. “Are you saying I’m old, too?”

“You’re both old,” comes Changkyun’s voice. 

Minhyuk lifts his head from Kihyun’s lap just enough to watch Changkyun make his way over to them and join them on the sofa. He squeezes in the gap between Minhyuk and the other arm of the sofa, which requires him to lift Minhyuk’s feet and then drop them in his lap, but he looks pleased with himself when he manages to squeeze in. 

Then, because he’s Changkyun, he lightly smacks Minhyuk’s ass and grins at him cheekily. 

“I hate you,” Minhyuk mutters and lets his head drop back into Kihyun’s lap. He stayed awake just to spend some time with Changkyun and  _ this _ is the treatment he gets?

“You love me,” Changkyun singsongs. “Tell me you love me.”

Minhyuk would never miss an opportunity to tell Changkyun he loves him. “I love you.”

“Aw, thanks, I love me, too.”

The urge to throttle Changkyun grows ever stronger. 

As they fall into a silence, words unnecessary between them, simply each other’s presence is enough, Minhyuk thinks back to the conversation he’d had with Junhui and his curiosity returns. 

“Oh, Kihyun, by the way, did you hear anything about some guy last night being attacked by an animal?”

“Huh? An animal attack?” Kihyun hums as he thinks it over. “I don’t think so. Maybe someone else looked into it? Why do you ask?”

“People were talking about it at the bakery. It sounded weird and suspicious. What animal attacks happen in Mulwich?”

“Maybe it was a werewolf,” Changkyun offers. 

“That’s what Junhui said. Are you two werewolf buddies or something?”

Changkyun lifts his head to the ceiling and howls and Minhyuk laughs so hard he falls off the sofa. 

“You’re dumb,” Minhyuk says with a dopey smile on his face as he lies on the floor where he fell, too lazy to move. “I might sleep here.”

“Sleeping on the floor like the gremlin you are,” Kihyun jokes. 

“You’re the gremlin,” Minhyuk shoots back. Clearly he’s a genius when it comes to comebacks. Everyone should be taking notes. 

“I might actually head to bed,” Changkyun says. “I’m wiped from today. You guys coming?”

As tempting as it sounds to stay on the floor all night just so he doesn’t have to move, Minhyuk knows he’d regret it later, so he reluctantly picks himself up off the floor to go to his actual bed for some much needed sleep. 

* * *

Numbers, numbers and more numbers. That’s all Changkyun sees all day every day. He enjoys his job, sure, but it gets so repetitive sometimes. 

Today has been particularly tedious. It’s no different from any other day in terms of what he’s doing, but maybe it’s the lack of sleep he got because, for some reason, something woke him up in the night and he found it hard to fall back asleep, or maybe it’s because his  _ entire _ day yesterday was taken up by work and he barely found a single moment to relax or enjoy some time with his boyfriends, but today has just been, quite frankly, absolute dog shit.

And so when his lunch break rolls around Changkyun welcomes the short break from work with open arms. He wanders into the break room and finds one of his coworkers and friends, Hoseok, in there eating some sort of chicken dish. Changkyun smiles at him, grabs the lunch Kihyun had prepared him out of the fridge and then joins Hoseok at the table. “How’s it going?”

Hoseok shrugs, but gives Changkyun a warm smile. “I’m a bit exhausted with everything going on, but I’m managing. You?”

“God, tell me about it,” Changkyun groans with sympathy. Who knew his job could be so exhausting? It’s like there’s no moment to rest. “I’m doing okay. Just ready for a break, honestly.”

“You got any holidays planned with your boys or anything?” Hoseok always refers to Kihyun and Minhyuk as Changkyun’s ‘boys’ and it’s so sweet it always brings a smile to Changkyun’s face.

“Not that I know of, but I have a feeling Minhyuk will have something planned for Kihyun’s birthday at the end of the month. He’s not as sneaky as he thinks.” Well, he is doing quite well at hiding Kihyun’s surprise trip from both Kihyun and Changkyun, but as Changkyun’s the one who deals with their finances, he kind of figured it out quite easily. Minhyuk usually buys all of their presents in cash to keep some secrecy from Changkyun, but either he hadn’t thought about the fact that Changkyun would see it, or he just didn’t mind if Changkyun found out since it’s a surprise from Kihyun. Changkyun won’t tell Kihyun, anyway, because he can’t wait to see the surprise on Kihyun’s face when he realises, and he knows Kihyun hasn’t got a clue about what Minhyuk’s planning. 

“I wish we were going on a trip but Hyunwoo can never get time off work, which makes no sense because nothing even happens in this town to investigate.” He sighs and takes another bite of his chicken. “Any idea how Minhyuk could’ve swung getting Kihyun time off work? Assuming he did, anyway.”

Changkyun’s not sure if he has asked for time off work for Kihyun or if he’s just planning the trip to be short over the weekend, but it wouldn’t shock him at all if Minhyuk had somehow convinced Kihyun’s boss to let him have some time off. “Minhyuk has his ways. I have no idea how he does it.”

Hoseok laughs at that. “The forever mystery that is Lee Minhyuk.”

“One can only hope to understand him.” Changkyun realises that he’d been so distracted talking to Hoseok that he hasn’t even made a start on his lunch, so he quickly opens it up and takes a deep whiff of the bibimbap. As he takes a bite, he suddenly remembers that he wanted to see if anyone else had heard about those weird animal attacks that Minhyuk mentioned last night and who better to ask than the only other person in town he knows that’s dating a detective. “Did you hear anything about those animal attacks?”

“I heard some vague stuff, but not a lot. Hyunwoo had no idea what I was talking about,” Hoseok answers around a mouthful of chicken. “Weird how everyone in town seems to know about these animal attacks other than the people that are meant to investigate this sort of stuff.”

Well, that’s a bust. Changkyun has no idea why he’s so intrigued by the attacks. Maybe it’s the fact that  _ nothing _ ever happens in their town and now there’s  _ something _ and he can’t help but have his interest piqued. “Yeah. Kihyun knew nothing either when Minhyuk mentioned it yesterday.”

“I overheard this morning that there was another attack last night. Maybe they’ll have a look into it today.”

“I hope so for their sake. Kihyun loves his job but I’m pretty sure he gets bored having nothing to do a lot of the time,” Changkyun says sadly. It’s the only downside, really, of living in such a small town, but even then it’s a double-edged sword. Kihyun might have a boring job sometimes when there’s nothing to investigate, but it also means that nothing bad ever happens in their town, which is clearly a positive. Changkyun knows that Kihyun’s aware of that and it’s why he hardly complains about the lack of, well, anything to really do at his job other than deal with stuff that’s meant to be dealt with by people lower down the pecking order than himself, but Changkyun can tell that it gets to him sometimes. 

“Let’s hope it is just animals. We don’t want a vampire lurking on our streets.”

Changkyun laughs at that one. “I suggested werewolf, now you’ve suggested vampire. What’s next on the predictions of what could possibly be attacking the town?”

“Maybe it’s a demon,” Hoseok suggests with a smirk. “Maybe someone summoned one.”

“Maybe the demon’s been here all along, waiting for it’s chance to strike,” Changkyun says conspiratorially, wiggling his eyebrows dramatically for greater effect. 

Hoseok gasps, overly dramatic. “Are you suggesting you know this demon?”

Changkyun simply winks in reply. 

* * *

The animal attacks don’t stop and Minhyuk can’t stop thinking about them. It’s just so  _ strange _ that of all places that would have some mysterious animal (no one can settle on one particular animal that they think it is) would choose their town of all places to suddenly start attacking people.

No one’s died, which Minhyuk is glad for, but most of the people who have been attacked have ended up in hospital. As soon as it starts to get dark in the evening people stop leaving their houses and now a week after the attacks first started they’ve made it through a whole day without Minhyuk hearing about another attack, so it’s safe to assume that last night was an attack free night, but Minhyuk will confirm that with Kihyun when he finishes walking home, which should only take a few more minutes.

Speaking of Kihyun, he’s been having to work overtime every day to try and deal with the animal attacks and Minhyuk feels sorry for him. He seems so exhausted every day, but he’s sure Kihyun’s even just a little bit pleased that he finally has some actual investigative work to do, even if it is looking into an animal.

Minhyuk unlocks the front door and is instantly hit with the smell of pizza wafting through the house. He grins because it’s Changkyun’s night to cook and if he can smell pizza then it means he probably caved and ordered them some pizza from Bam’s Pizza who do the best pizza Minhyuk’s ever tasted. 

“Honeys, I’m home,” he calls, as he always does when he gets home. He started doing it as a joke, but then the joke stuck and now it’s weird for him to  _ not _ do it.

Minhyuk follows the smell of the pizza into the kitchen and finds Changkyun and Kihyun sitting at the table patiently waiting. The pizza box remains untouched in the centre of the table and Minhyuk mentally applauds them for their self control, because he wouldn’t have been able to sit there with the pizza in front of him and not take a bite.

He gives Kihyun and then Changkyun quick pecks in greeting and then sits down at his usual seat at the head of the table. He’d decided rather quickly when they bought the table that as he’s the oldest that would be his seat whenever they sat down for dinner together. Changkyun and Kihyun indulged him in his ridiculous insistence to always take the same seat, but occasionally Changkyun will sit there just to wind him up.

“I didn’t expect you to be back already. No overtime today?” Minhyuk asks Kihyun as he takes a slice of the pizza. He has to pull it far from the other slices to break the string of cheese between them and his mouth waters simply from holding the slice in his hand. You really can’t beat Bam’s pizza. 

“Yeah, there weren't any attacks last night so we had less to do,” Kihyun answers, saving Minhyuk from having to ask the question he’s been wondering. “Still busy as hell, though.”

“I can imagine.”

They devour both of the pizzas rather quickly between the three of them, chatting here and there about their days, but Changkyun seems quieter than usual.

“You okay, Kyunnie?” Minhyuk decides to ask. Changkyun’s always rather quiet, but today he’s even more so than usual, and just looking at him he looks distracted. 

“Just thinking about something Hoseok said.”

Changkyun doesn’t elaborate any further and Minhyuk goes to ask him what he means, but Kihyun beats him to it. “What did he say?”

“You’ll think I’m dumb.”

Minhyuk frowns. What is it that Changkyun could possibly say to them that they could judge him for? “You can say anything to us. We won’t judge you,” Minhyuk reassures him.

Changkyun looks hesitant, but then gives in. “He said he doesn’t think the attacks are animal attacks and I don’t either. I don’t know what I think is doing it, but it’s not an animal.” He looks down at his feet as he speaks. 

“It does seem too strange to be just animal attacks,” Minhyuk agrees. Then, he spots Kihyun’s raised brow and tries to backtrack. He understands what Kihyun’s trying to tell him - don’t give Changkyun any ideas. “But it could just be some weird wild animal that somehow wandered into town. It’s probably something not native to here.”

Kihyun gives Minhyuk a subtle nod then reaches over the table to hold Changkyun’s hand. “Don’t worry about it, okay? We don’t think you’re dumb for wondering what it could be, but I’m not going to let either of you come into harm. If it was, somehow, a person doing all this, you know I’d tell you even if I wasn’t allowed to to protect you. We really think it’s just an animal attack.”

Changkyun finally looks up at Kihyun, who gives him a reassuring smile, and Changkyun attempts to give one back, but it falls flat. “I think I’m going to watch TV in the room for a bit.”

When Changkyun shuts the door behind him, Minhyuk sees Kihyun visibly deflate. “You okay?”

Kihyun shrugs and leans further back into his chair. “He’s not wrong, really. It doesn’t seem like an animal attack, but that’s the only thing we have to go off of right now, so I didn’t want to tell him I agree with him.” Kihyun sighs and shakes his head. “I’m letting the conspiracies get to me now. It’s just some dumb animal. That’s all.” He’s not speaking to Minhyuk now, but rather to himself. 

Minhyuk hums, not sure what to say. 

“I’m going to run a bath if you want to join,” Kihyun offers. 

Minhyuk nods. “I’d love to.”

When he leaves too and Minhyuk is left alone in the kitchen he can’t help but think about everything that’s been said over their dinner, and one question keeps running over and over again in his mind. 

What if it’s a human attacking people?

* * *

What Changkyun said hasn’t left Kihyun’s mind. He  _ knows _ it’s irrational. Everyone at the station agrees that it must be some wild animal that’s causing the attacks. Yet, Kihyun’s spent days looking into every zoo and wildlife sanctuary in the local area (and then a bit further, too) and contacted each and every one of them to ask if they’ve had any escapes recently, but all of them deny it. Sure, maybe they’re lying to cover it up, but Kihyun can’t imagine they’d get away with a lie like that so easily. 

Kihyun and Hyunwoo, his partner, have been in and out of the hospital every single day, interviewing everyone who was attacked to see if any of them can give any information that might help them to locate this animal, but none of them claim to have seen anything other than a black shape before they were knocked out. 

And, surely, even if there were some wild animal attacking people, it wouldn’t only attack one person each night. There’d be attacks during the day or there’d be more than one attack each night.

But no. One attack per night, other than the last two nights. And the only difference between the past week and the last two nights is that everyone’s observing a curfew and so no one’s outside after dark. 

Kihyun doubts the curfew will last, though. People don’t enjoy being stuck in their houses and the curfew is set quite early as it approaches winter and so gets dark early on in the day. 

Something about the pattern of the attacks just seems so… calculated, and Kihyun can’t think of a single wild animal that would plan out it’s attacks like this. 

But that leaves Kihyun with the option he doesn’t want to even consider - there’s a human doing all of this. 

There’s two flaws in that theory, too. One is that it’d have to be someone who lives in Mulwich, and there’s not a single person Kihyun can think of that he could even potentially consider to be doing all of this. Sure, he could be wrong, you can’t know everyone, but it just doesn’t even seem possible. The other flaw is that the attacks just don’t line up with something a human could do. There’s no weapon that Kihyun can think of that matches the injuries because, honestly, they look like claw marks. 

But where does that leave Kihyun? He has two options - it’s a wild animal or it’s a human - but neither of them fit the story perfectly. 

Kihyun groans and leans back in his chair. He’s meant to be on his lunch break, but he just can’t stop thinking about the case. He can’t get it off of his mind. There’s something about the case that’s bothering him, but he just can’t figure out what. 

It’s almost like he’s seen something just like it before. 

Kihyun jumps up out of his seat all of a sudden, causing it to fall back to the floor with a loud clatter. Every head in the office turns to look at him and he sheepishly apologises. “Sorry, everyone. Go back to work.”

Kihyun picks his chair up off the floor in shame, then makes his way to the storage room where they keep all of their old case files. Nowadays everything is stored digitally, but no one made the effort to archive the older files, so he has to do this the old-fashioned way. 

He stares at the walls lined with filing cabinets and sighs. He’s going to need some help.

* * *

“What exactly are we looking for here?” Hyunwoo asks. He’s sitting on the floor on the other side of the room to Kihyun, surrounded by case files in different piles, his hair all over the place. Kihyun can’t say he really looks any better right now. 

They’ve been at this for hours already, looking through each and every file looking for…  _ something.  _ Kihyun doesn’t even know exactly what they’re looking for, he just knows whatever it is, it’s going to help solve the mystery.

“Anything that reminds you of the case we’re dealing with,” Kihyun replies vaguely. 

“You said that before, but I don’t know what that means.” 

“Just, please keep looking. There’s something. I know there is.”

Hyunwoo nods and gets back to skimming through the files without argument.

Kihyun feels blessed that Hyunwoo is his partner and good friend because he’s pretty sure if anyone else was working with him on this case they’d have told him to stuff it and look himself, but Hyunwoo’s not like that. Kihyun couldn’t be more thankful for him. 

He looks back down at his own pile of case files and sighs. They’ve barely even made a dent in all of the files that are in this room and Kihyun has no idea how much longer they’ll have to do this until he finds what he’s looking for. Not that he really knows what he’s looking for, but he knows there’s something. 

Kihyun works through his files in a methodical manner. If it’s burglaries or vandalism or anything similar, it’s out instantly. Those aren’t useful to him. If it’s attacks or muggings, then he’ll look further into the file, trying to see if anything sticks out to him. But even with cutting out a huge chunk of the cases (which aren’t only from their town but also cases from nearby towns when there was only one police station covering all of them) there’s still thousands to go through.

Kihyun has a feeling he might be here all night. 

He picks up the next file in the stack. Burglary. That’s useless to him, so he moves it into his checked stack, making sure to keep everything in the order he found it. He really doesn’t want to spend extra time making sure to file everything back in the correct order later on. He picks up the next one, about someone being mugged, but it doesn’t match their current case, so he moves on. 

The final file in his current stack is about a serial killer and he almost puts it into his checked pile instantly. They’re not looking for a serial killer. But, he decides to check through the file anyway, just in case, and every page he reads his face pales more. 

By the end of the file, Kihyun feels only one emotion - dread. 

“Hyunwoo,” he says, voice barely above a whisper, but Hyunwoo hears him somehow. “I found it.”

* * *

Kihyun’s face is white as a sheet when he climbs into the passenger seat of the car. Even Kihyun asking Minhyuk to drive to pick him up is unusual on its own - Minhyuk can’t think of a time Kihyun’s ever asked him to do that before because they never drive anywhere unless they’re going out of town - but how he looks only concerns Minhyuk even further. 

“Are you okay?” Minhyuk asks, even though he knows the answer. It’s written all over Kihyun’s face. 

“We’ll talk when we’re home.”

Minhyuk swallows and decides not to question him. Now he’s worried about what it is that Kihyun wants to talk to them about. What could’ve happened at work for him to be looking like this and needing to talk to him and Changkyun?

Unless… Could he have found something out about the animal attacks?

The drive home is suffocating. Kihyun doesn’t say a word and there’s nothing Minhyuk can think of to say to fill the silence. 

Kihyun climbs out of the car and walks into the house without looking at Minhyuk, but he leaves the door open so that Minhyuk doesn’t have to get his own keys out, so that at least tells Minhyuk he’s present enough to realise that Minhyuk’s with him. But just how present he actually is, Minhyuk can’t tell. He seems so far away. 

Minhyuk can’t think of a time he’s ever seen Kihyun like this. He’s not sure he can even place the emotion all over Kihyun’s face. If he didn’t know better, he’d just say Kihyun seems like he’s sick.

But Kihyun doesn’t get sick. 

Kihyun takes a seat on the sofa and so Minhyuk follows him and sits down next to him, but leaves a gap between them. He doesn’t know if Kihyun wants affection right now. 

They sit in a further stifling silence as they wait for Changkyun to get home. Every second that passes feels like an hour. 

All sorts of possibilities and scenarios run through Minhyuk’s head. Did Kihyun lose his job? Is something wrong with his health? Is he breaking up with them?

No. That’s absurd. Minhyuk knows Kihyun won’t break up with them. He knows that. (But a small voice in the back of his head, the voice he’s spent years ignoring and blocking out, whispers that he’s not good enough and so of course Kihyun would want to leave him.)

Minhyuk’s spiral is stopped when the sound of the door opening hits his ears. He breathes a sigh of relief. At least with Changkyun home Kihyun will finally tell them what’s going on. 

“What’s with the atmosphere in here? Did someone die?” Changkyun jokes. When no one replies, he panics and says, “No one died, right?”

“No.” It’s the first time Kihyun’s spoken since he got in the car, and Minhyuk can’t even put into words how much relief it brings him just to hear Kihyun’s voice again.

“What’s going on?” Changkyun takes a seat on the armchair just off to the side of the sofa Kihyun and Minhyuk are sitting on. He looks at Kihyun, who doesn’t provide an answer, so instead looks helplessly to Minhyuk.

But Minhyuk can only shrug. He has no more idea about what’s going on than Changkyun does. 

Thankfully, the silence doesn’t stretch on any longer. Kihyun breaks it by saying, “I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said last night, Changkyun.” Even though it’s directed at Changkyun, he doesn’t look at him. He keeps his attention focused solely on the floor. 

“Okay? What does that mean?”

“Something about the case kept playing on my mind. It just sounded so familiar. So, I spent the day with Hyunwoo looking through old case files.”

Minhyuk has no idea where Kihyun’s going with this, but he’s not sure he likes the direction it’s headed. 

“I found what I was looking for,” Kihyun continues. “It’s not an animal or a human we’re dealing with.” Kihyun finally looks up from the floor and somehow his face is even paler than it was in the car. 

Minhyuk finally identifies the emotion that’s been on Kihyun’s face this whole time - fear. 

Then, Kihyun says the words that change their lives forever.

“It’s a monster.”


	2. Chapter 2

“A monster?” Minhyuk repeats, the disbelief clear in his voice. It’s not that he doesn’t want to believe Kihyun - he always trusts everything that his boyfriend has to say - but this just seems so unbelievable. 

But also, this is Kihyun. If Changkyun were the one to say it, Minhyuk would probably laugh and agree and assume he’s joking around, because that’s what Changkyun’s like, but Kihyun? Kihyun believing that it’s a monster makes it slightly more believable to Minhyuk. 

Kihyun’s visibly falls with Minhyuk’s disbelief. 

“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Minhyuk is quick to amend. “It’s just— A monster? Are you sure?”

“It’s the only explanation,” Kihyun says. The confidence he had earlier when he said it is gone now and Minhyuk knows he only has himself to blame for that. “This same thing happened around 60 years ago. One attack a night, only ever at night, where people got injured. The same formula as we’re seeing now.”

“There’s a ‘but’ in that sentence, isn’t there?” Changkyun asks. 

Kihyun nods solemnly. “It was just attacks for a while, like we’re seeing, but it eventually lead to deaths. Seven to be exact before they caught the guy.”

“The guy?” Minhyuk asks. “But you said monster?”

“That’s the part that’s confusing,” Kihyun says. “When they caught him, he was a human, just like you or me or anyone in this town, but he turned into what was only described as a monster when the sun set and escaped. Every single person in that station provided the same eyewitness account.”

“Did he ever get caught again?” Changkyun dares to ask. 

“No, but there were no more attacks. No one knows what happened to him.”

Minhyuk lets the words sink in, tries to make sense of the story that Kihyun’s just told him. There’s always a chance that the monster part was a lie they made up back then to cover up their failure to stop a man from escaping, but why would they choose such an outlandish lie if so? Surely there would be better cover ups than claiming he turned into a damn monster. 

But still. A monster? Minhyuk believes in a lot of absurd things, but monsters are something he never considered. 

A question comes to him suddenly. “Do you think it’s the same guy as before?”

Kihyun shakes his head. “I doubt it. He was 26 when they booked him, so he’d be over 80 now. And why spend 60 years in hiding only to come back and start it all over again?”

It makes sense, but that means that Minhyuk not only has to believe in one potential monster, but two of them. 

“I’m scared,” Changkyun says in a small voice. “I’m really scared.”

“Aw, baby,” Minhyuk coos, patting his thighs then holding out his arms. 

Changkyun is quick to move from the armchair he was sitting on to Minhyuk’s lap, curling himself up as small as possible as Minhyuk wraps his arms around Changkyun and kisses his temple. 

“You’ll be okay, we all will be,” Minhyuk reassures. He looks to Kihyun. “I believe you that it’s a monster, I do, I’m just struggling to wrap my head around it right now.”

Relief floods across Kihyun’s face. “I know it sounds utterly ridiculous, but as soon as I saw the file, I knew it had to be the case.”

Minhyuk hums. “Come here,” he says, reaching out with one arm. 

Kihyun slots himself into Minhyuk’s side, resting his hand on Changkyun’s waist. “Thank you for believing me,” he mumbles. 

“Of course,” Minhyuk says instantly. “It just came as a shock at first. I know you’d never lie to me.”

They fall into a silence, only the sounds of their breathing to be heard in the room. Changkyun sniffles occasionally, but it’s hard to know if it’s because he’s upset or just has a runny nose, as he’s prone to colds. 

After the silence stretches on for a little while, with his voice barely above a whisper, Changkyun asks, “What do we do now?” 

“For now, we don’t think about it. We stay at home when it gets dark and we live our lives as normal,” Minhyuk says. “Everything will be fine, yeah?”

“It’ll be fine,” Kihyun repeats, but it’s hard to tell if he’s saying it more to reassure Changkyun or himself. 

“Can we go to bed?” Changkyun asks. 

“Come on, then,” Minhyuk says. 

They all climb into bed together, limbs tangled together so that they’re not three people, but one. 

Minhyuk waits until both of them have fallen asleep before he quietly sneaks out of bed. He heads outside and takes a seat on the bench that rests down the bottom of the garden, the fresh air helping to calm him. 

To be completely honest, the discovery that they’re dealing with something so unknown and so unbelievable has shaken Minhyuk more than he’d like to admit. 

Of the three of them, usually Kihyun is the one to act strong and comfort Minhyuk and Changkyun when things affect the three of them, but Kihyun was so shaken up this time that Minhyuk had stepped up to the role instead. He’s more than happy to do so - if he needs to be strong to comfort his boyfriends then he will - but now that they’re asleep, he doesn’t have to keep up his strong front. 

He lets himself take a moment to entertain the possibilities of what could occur. The good, the bad, the ugly - everything they might come up against with a monster in their town. 

The thoughts all whizz through his head, one after another, but he only lets each of them stay for so long. He can only allow himself to spend so much of his energy panicking about the unknown. 

“Minhyuk?” a voice calls, bringing Minhyuk back to the present. 

He looks up and sees Changkyun standing at the back door. “I needed some fresh air, sorry,” Minhyuk explains. 

“Come back to bed.”

It’s impossible to say no to Changkyun, and it’s not like Minhyuk would want to anyway, so he forces the thoughts and the fear out of his mind and gives Changkyun a smile as he returns to the house. 

He can and he will be the strong one this time. 

* * *

When Kihyun wakes up, his head is pounding and he feels a tightness in his chest. He tries his best to ignore it as he goes about his morning routine, but it just gets progressively worse as time goes on. 

He finds himself lying down on the sofa, his hand resting against his forehead with his eyes closed, trying to will the headache away. 

“Don’t go into work,” comes Minhyuk’s voice. 

Kihyun opens his eyes to see Minhyuk standing at the end of the sofa, frowning at him. 

“I have to,” Kihyun insists. He never misses a day of work.  _ Ever _ . A silly little headache and some chest pain won’t change that. 

“Don’t be stubborn for once. Call in sick,” Minhyuk says. “You’ll regret going in.”

Kihyun knows he’s right, but he hates that he’s right. He doesn’t want to give in to Minhyuk, he wants to fight and be stubborn like he always is, but another sharp wave of pain rushes through his head and he’s forced to close his eyes again and groan. 

“Stay home,” Minhyuk repeats. “I’ll stay with you and look after you.”

“I’ll call in sick, but you’re still going to work,” Kihyun says as a compromise. He doesn’t have to open his eyes to know that Minhyuk’s smiling triumphantly knowing his plan worked. “Now go away and let me rest.”

Minhyuk laughs, then presses a gentle kiss to Kihyun’s forehead. “Love you, you grumpy idiot.”

“Love you, too,” Kihyun replies, finally opening his eyes again to look up at Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk smiles, kisses his forehead once more, and then finally leaves Kihyun alone on the sofa. 

Kihyun quickly makes a call to work to let them know he won’t be there and then he shuts his eyes again, intending on getting some more sleep, which he should really move to the bed for but doesn’t have the energy to, but the quiet doesn’t last long. 

“Why haven’t you left?” Changkyun, this time. 

“I’m not going,” Kihyun answers. “I feel like crap.”

“Aw, baby,” Changkyun says sympathetically. He kneels down next to the sofa and rests the back of his hand against Kihyun’s forehead. “You’re quite hot.”

“Thanks, I know,” Kihyun jokes. 

Changkyun rolls his eyes. “That’s such a Minhyuk joke to make.”

“I guess he’s rubbing off on me.” Kihyun holds up a finger the second he sees Changkyun’s mouth open. “Whatever terrible thing you’re going to say, don’t.”

Changkyun pouts. “You love all the terrible things I have to say, though.”

Kihyun wishes he could disagree, but he can’t. “You’re lucky I love you so I accept your terrible comments, more like.” He glances over at the clock and sees that it’s nearing 8:45am. “Shouldn’t you be leaving?”

Changkyun looks at the clock himself, swears under his breath, gives Kihyun a chaste kiss and then is running out of the door with a hasty ‘Bye, love!’ thrown out. 

Kihyun breathes a sigh of relief at the now quiet house. His head won’t get any better with Changkyun and Minhyuk’s constant chattering to him. 

But even though the quiet is nice, Kihyun finds himself wishing that his boyfriends were here with him anyway. 

He gets so lonely when he’s sick. 

* * *

Kihyun is in and out of sleep all day, still on the sofa as he has no energy to move into his room, and he’s awoken again around midday when he hears the door quietly click shut. He pushes himself up on his elbows so he can peek over the back of the sofa and sees Changkyun sneaking through the room. 

“Kyunnie? Why are you home?” Kihyun asks. His eyes flick back over to the clock and sure enough it’s only midday. Changkyun’s never back before 5:30pm. 

Changkyun freezes, eyes wide, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “I got given a half day because I’ve been working well recently?” It doesn’t sound like a statement, rather a question, like he’s unsure of why he’s actually home. 

“Right. They just gave you a half day coincidentally when I’m sick,” Kihyun says, an eyebrow raised. 

Changkyun nods, more determined and sure than before. “Yep. Funny coincidence, right?” He laughs awkwardly. 

Kihyun shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “Thank you for using up your holiday to come home for me.”

Changkyun smiles finally. “You’re not mad?”

“No. I’ve been lonely. Come give me cuddles.”

Changkyun doesn’t hesitate to slip onto the sofa behind Kihyun so that his chest is pressed against Kihyun’s back. He kisses Kihyun’s neck, bringing a contented hum out of Kihyun. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Not really. I’ve just been sleeping all day. I am a bit hungry, though.”

“I’ll make you some chicken soup,” Changkyun says, his breath tickling Kihyun’s neck as he speaks with how close he is, “but not yet. I missed you.”

It still makes Kihyun feel special whenever Changkyun or Minhyuk say they missed him, even though they’ve been dating for years and even when they’ve barely been apart for long. “I missed you. Always do.”

“How long do you think it’ll be before Minhyuk gets home with some excuse that he got off early?” Changkyun asks, amused. 

“Not long,” Kihyun replies. He knows his boyfriends too well. They always do this whenever he’s sick, but the same happens when one of them is sick, too, so he can’t really blame them. They’re all so respected at their work that taking a half day here and there isn’t a problem. 

Kihyun shuts his eyes and settles back against Changkyun. He feels sleep creep back up on him, ready to overtake him, when Changkyun speaks again. 

“I was thinking about something, by the way.”

“What is it?”

Changkyun doesn’t reply for a long moment and Kihyun wonders if he’s fallen asleep or something, but then he feels Changkyun’s hand sneak under his shirt and squeeze his waist, making Kihyun shiver at the cold hand against his warm skin. 

“Don’t try distract me,” Kihyun says. “Tell me what it is.”

Changkyun humphs, annoyed that Kihyun figured him out so easily. “It’s probably stupid.”

“Nothing is stupid. What is it?”

Changkyun sighs. “I think we should try and find the monster ourselves. I know it’s literally your job to figure this out, but I know you’ll have to look for a person, not a monster. We can figure it out on our own.”

Kihyun considers it. It makes sense. He can’t waltz back to work and tell them all that they’re hunting a monster now. That wouldn’t really go down well. But, Kihyun does have the skills to find this monster, and he knows Changkyun and Minhyuk will only help him with it, so it is a possibility. 

But should they really do it? Should they really risk themselves to solve this case? Kihyun doesn’t mind risking himself at his job, but he doesn’t want his boyfriends to be at risk. He can’t lose either of them. 

“We’ll talk to Minhyuk about it when he’s home,” Kihyun settles on. “Now, let me sleep for a bit. I’m tired.”

* * *

Minhyuk feels kinda guilty about leaving work early, even though his boss didn’t mind because there haven’t been many cases to work on recently, so everyone at the company is just sitting around with nothing to do, really. 

When Minhyuk unlocks the front door, he doesn’t expect to hear talking coming from inside. He follows the sound into the bedroom and finds Changkyun and Kihyun cuddling in bed. 

“Hey, baby,” Kihyun says, smiling at Minhyuk. “Kyunnie, you owe me a tenner.”

Changkyun swears under his breath. “Couldn’t you have waited like, another 15 minutes to come home?”

Minhyuk narrows his eyes. “Did you place bets on when I’d come home?”

“We’d never do that,” Changkyun says, a shit-eating grin on his face. 

Minhyuk slips off his shoes and joins the two of them in bed, tangling his legs with Kihyun’s and kissing both their foreheads. “You any better?”

“My head still hurts, honestly,” Kihyun says. “I’ve been sleeping on and off all day.”

“Hopefully the rest will help. When did you get home, Kyun?”

“About an hour ago. I tried to sneak in and pretend I got let off early for good work, but, you know, Kihyun saw right through it,” Changkyun says sheepishly. “Oh, by the way, I wanted to suggest something to you.”

“Which is?” Minhyuk prompts. 

“I think the three of us should try and find the monster together.”

Minhyuk doesn’t hesitate to agree. “Yeah, sure, why not?”

Changkyun looks confused. “That was easy.”

“I mean, why not? We have Detective Kihyun Yoo to protect us, after all.”

Kihyun scrunches his nose up and his chin goes all wrinkly in his annoyance. “Don’t call me that.”

“That’s your title, though,” Minhyuk teases. He only does it because he knows it annoys Kihyun, and it’s cute to see him getting all flustered about it. 

Kihyun scowls at him. 

“Okay, okay, fine. I won’t call you that again. Promise.”

Kihyun doesn’t look convinced (probably rightfully so) but he accepts it. “So, what’s the plan for this whole investigation thing if we’re really doing this?”

“You’re actually okay with this?” Changkyun asks, shock evident in his voice. 

Minhyuk is shocked too, honestly. Of the three of them, Kihyun’s usually the one to reign in Minhyuk and Changkyun’s outlandish plans. It’s partially why Minhyuk agreed so easily, because he knows that if anything were truly dangerous Kihyun would stop them. 

“I mean, who else is going to do it, really? And I don’t want you two going off and doing this alone. I have to make sure nothing happens to you.”

Minhyuk smiles. Of course it’s Kihyun being protective over them. He should’ve known, really. 

“So, monster hunting boyfriends it is, then,” Changkyun says decisively. 

Minhyuk rolls his eyes at the ridiculous name, but he can’t help but feel excited about the idea of solving this together with his loves.

“Again, what’s your plan?” Kihyun says with amusement in his voice. “Since you’re the mastermind behind this whole monster hunting plan, you should be the one to decide what we’re doing, Kyunnie.”

Kihyun’s clearly in the mood to tease Changkyun, so Minhyuk decides to hold back on his own teasing as tempting as it may be. He doesn’t want Changkyun in a huff. 

Changkyun is staring daggers at the back of Kihyun’s head. Minhyuk tries to stifle his laugh, but Kihyun must notice and narrows his eyes at Minhyuk. “What’s he doing?”

Changkyun puts an innocent smile on his face as Kihyun cranes his neck around to look at him. “Love you,” Changkyun says and kisses Kihyun quickly. 

Kihyun looks suspicious, but says, “Love you, too,” anyway. 

“I think we start with asking around and seeing what people know. You know what people are like telling those in authority, so if Minhyuk and I ask we might be able to find more out than you have, Kihyun. Then, once we have enough information, we can go out there ourselves and see if we can spot the monster.”

Kihyun looks so positively proud of Changkyun at those words. “You’re so smart, baby. I’ve taught you so well.”

“Maybe I’m just a good listener,” Changkyun says, but he looks happy at the praise. 

Minhyuk is hit with an overwhelming sense of love for the two of them. He really couldn’t love or be more proud of the two men in front of him, the men he gets to call his boyfriends and life partners. 

His love is quickly overtaken by a strong surge of hunger and his stomach rumbles loudly. “So, who wants to make me lunch?” Minhyuk asks. 

He gets shoved out of bed and told to make his own lunch, Kihyun saying he’s too sick and Changkyun claiming he’s done enough for today by making Kihyun his lunch earlier. 

As much as he loves his boyfriends, they really do suck sometimes. (Not that he can really complain, their reasonings are valid, but Minhyuk’s going to grumble to himself about it anyway.)

* * *

Changkyun slides into an empty seat at the table where many of his coworkers, including Hoseok, are eating their lunch and chatting. 

He waits for a lull in the conversation and then says to Hoseok and Yoongi, who are sitting nearest to him, “Either of you know anything new about the attacks?”

“Aren’t you the one dating a detective?” Yoongi asks. 

“Hoseok is too,” Changkyun says with a pout. “Doesn’t mean I know anything. Kihyun keeps things a secret.”

“Hyunwoo’s the same,” Hoseok agrees. “He tells me nothing. I have to find out from literally everyone except him.”

Changkyun nods to show he agrees. 

Yoongi looks between the two of them, then sighs. “Okay, well, all I can tell you is what you probably already know. There’s one attack per night, always after the sun has set. No one’s had any life-threatening injuries yet, but you never know. Maybe that’ll come in the future.”

“Nothing else?”

Yoongi shakes his head. “I’m just as clueless as you are.”

Changkyun turns to Hoseok, hoping that somehow he actually has more information even though he’d already mentioned about not knowing anything, but Hoseok just shrugs. 

“We’re all just clueless, I think. Sorry, Changkyun,” Hoseok says. “Why are you so curious?”

“I kinda convinced Kihyun and Minhyuk to try and figure out who - or what - is behind the attacks and see if we can catch them,” Changkyun replies sheepishly. He makes sure not to be too obvious about their theory that it’s a monster, not a human. That’s not something to start spouting to just anyone. 

Hoseok’s eyebrows dart up in surprise. “Kihyun’s really letting you do that?”

“Minhyuk and I can be very convincing.” Changkyun wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, which earns a fake gag from Yoongi. 

“How does anyone deal with you?”

Changkyun smiles so his dimples show and pokes a finger in one of them. “I’m adorable.”

Yoongi shakes his head and laughs, then gets up to leave. “I’m going back to work. See you guys later.”

Changkyun and Hoseok say their goodbyes to Yoongi, then continue their conversation. 

“You’re really going to investigate it yourselves?” Hoseok asks. “Why not just leave Kihyun to do it at work? It is, like, his job.”

Changkyun doesn’t think he should reveal the truth to that just yet. He trusts Hoseok, of course, but they’re surrounded by people who might overhear and Changkyun also doesn’t want to burden anyone else with the knowledge he has. “Hyunwoo and Kihyun and everyone else they work with deal with humans, right? If it’s an animal or something, and we have a theory it could be, then they’re not going try as hard, or at least give Kihyun and Hyunwoo the resources they need to solve it.”

It’s complete bullshit, as Changkyun has no idea whether it being an animal would really affect things that much, but Hoseok seems to accept it just fine. “Makes sense. Hyunwoo told me he thinks it’s an animal, anyway.”

“Are you guys talking about the attacks?” one of their coworkers, Minghao, asks as he sits down where Yoongi had been sitting before. 

“Yeah. Know anything?” Changkyun questions. He knows Minghao probably won’t have anything extra to give them than they already know - it seems that everyone has the same basic information only - but it doesn’t hurt to ask. 

“I know one of the guys who almost got attacked but managed to escape,” Minghao says casually, taking a bite of his sandwich right after. 

Changkyun just stares at him. “You do? Who is it?”

“No idea if you know him, but Jooheon. He’s dating Hyungwon, the guy who runs Plentiful Petals.”

Changkyun does, in fact, know both Hyungwon and Jooheon. Hyungwon is good friends with Minhyuk, and so they’ve hung out a few times. Changkyun doesn’t know Jooheon well, they’ve only met briefly, but he knows him well enough to be comfortable going to talk to him about this. “He really almost got attacked?”

Minghao nods. “I don’t know much about it, I heard it from a friend, but he saw whatever or whoever it is.”

This is exactly the lead Changkyun’s been looking for. If they can talk to Jooheon, maybe he can give them some extra information that can actually lead them to this monster. “Thanks, Minghao. That’s really helpful.”

Now Changkyun just has to wait until his shift is over. 

* * *

Minhyuk doesn’t expect to see Changkyun waiting outside the office building he works in. 

“Hi,” Changkyun says, approaching him and pulling him into a hug. 

Minhyuk hugs him back then kisses him, but he’s confused. “Why are you here and not home?”

“We’re going investigating,” Changkyun says as if Minhyuk should’ve known this already. He hooks his arm through Minhyuk’s and starts leading him towards the high street. 

Minhyuk obliges and walks with Changkyun, despite having no idea where they’re going or why. “Are you going to explain anything to me?” he asks. 

“Maybe,” Changkyun answers vaguely, but doesn’t elaborate. 

Minhyuk rolls his eyes. “Are we getting Kihyun?”

“He’s working overtime. Did you check your phone?”

Minhyuk didn’t, in fact, check his phone, which he knows Changkyun knows. “I hope he doesn’t work late.”

Changkyun hums an agreement. 

When they reach the high street, Minhyuk asks again, “So, where are we going?”

This time, Changkyun finally decides to explain. “I found out that Jooheon - Hyungwon’s boyfriend, I don’t know if you remember him - was almost attacked by the monster but got away. So, we’re paying him a visit to see if he knows anything.”

“You made that sound so ominous,” Minhyuk says, amused. “But he really saw it? And got away?”

“That’s what Minghao told me.”

They come to a halt outside of Plentiful Petals, the florist which Hyungwon owns. Although it’s getting late, the lights are still on inside, and Minhyuk can see Hyungwon inside sitting behind the counter. There’s no sign of Jooheon, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t out the back of the shop or anything. 

Changkyun opens the door, the bell above it jingling to signal their arrival, and Minhyuk follows him in quickly.

Hyungwon looks up at them at the sound of the bell and smiles and waves. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Hyungwon,” Changkyun greets. Minhyuk lets him take the lead on this as he was the one who had the idea to come and talk to Jooheon. “Is Jooheon around? We wanted to talk to him, if that’s okay.”

Hyungwon nods and says, “He’s out the back. Let me grab him for you.” He disappears past the curtain and out the back of the shop and then returns less than a minute later with Jooheon in tow. 

“Hey, Changkyun. Hey, Minhyuk,” Jooheon greets with a smile. “You wanted to speak to me?”

Changkyun nods. “We wanted to ask about whether you know anything about the attacks going on? We,” he gestures between himself and Minhyuk, “are trying to figure out what it is that’s doing this to try and stop it and we heard you could help.”

Jooheon nods, but the smile on his face is gone now, replaced with a solemn look. “I can tell you what I saw. Do you want to come through for some tea?”

“You don’t mind telling us?” Minhyuk asks, just to be sure. “And some tea would be lovely, thank you.”

“If you’re going to stop it and my information can help, then I’ll tell you as much as I can.” Jooheon leads them through to the back of the shop and upstairs into their flat above while Hyungwon closes up the shop to join them. 

Minhyuk and Changkyun sit down while Jooheon boils the kettle and prepares the tea for them. Once the tea is made and Hyungwon’s joined them, Jooheon starts to tell them about his experience from the other night. 

“So, a few days ago I’d been out with some friends at The White Stag. I hadn’t been drinking because I wasn’t in the mood, so it definitely wasn’t just a drunk hallucination. I heard this low growl, but I didn’t think anything of it and kept walking. I assumed it was, like, a fox or something because you see them everywhere.”

Everyone laughs at this as it’s true. Foxes really are everywhere. 

“Then, though, I saw this huge black shape out of the corner of my eye and another growl. I was shitting myself, so I didn’t bother to try and take a good look at it, I just ran.”

As Jooheon tells his story, Minhyuk feels a wave of dizziness and lightheadedness come over him. He doesn’t know what it is, maybe just fear and anxiety that even though he knows this has been happening, the fact it’s happened to someone he actually knows makes it all the more terrifying. 

“I kept hearing heavy breathing and footsteps as I was running but I didn’t dare look back at it. I just kept running all the way home. I tried to take a peek once I was back inside, but whatever it was was long gone by then,” Jooheon concludes. 

A silence falls over the room as Jooheon finishes his story and everyone takes it in. Minhyuk’s dizziness only increases, but he tries to ignore it. He picks up his tea with his shaky hands and takes a sip, and the warm liquid down his throat helps to ease it just a little bit. 

“I’m so sorry that happened,” Changkyun says finally, breaking the silence. “And thank you for telling us. It’s really helpful.”

“I’m just glad I didn’t get hurt,” Jooheon says truthfully. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”

“Did it seem like a human to you?” Changkyun dares to ask. 

Jooheon laughs and shakes his head. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a werewolf or something.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widen ever so slightly at this. They really are going after a monster, it seems. He’d known this since Kihyun told him, believed Kihyun, but still there had been this tiniest sliver of doubt and denial. That sliver is gone with Jooheon’s words. 

This is real. They’re facing an actual monster. A living, (presumably) breathing monster. 

Nausea overcomes Minhyuk. He takes a deep breath in, then a deep breath out, and then repeats, trying to will it away. 

“Thanks for telling us,” Changkyun says again. “I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.”

“Just catch whatever it is,” Jooheon replies. “I don’t want to see anyone else getting hurt.”

“We’ll stop it. I promise.”

They finish off their tea and catch up on how their lives have been going since they last saw each other, but the dizziness and nausea doesn’t leave Minhyuk. He does his best to ignore it and focus on the conversation, but it’s hard. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, Changkyun’s too engrossed in the conversation to notice Minhyuk’s struggling. 

When their mugs are empty, Changkyun and Minhyuk get up to leave with their thank yous. 

Before they can exit the door, Hyungwon says, “We need to meet up for dinner or something soon. Bring Kihyun along too, of course. It’s been too long.”

“It really has,” Minhyuk agrees. “I’ll text you soon to set a date.”

It’s dark outside now, a dangerous time to be outside with the monster around, so Changkyun and Minhyuk start to speed walk back home. They make it a little distance down the street before Minhyuk starts to sway, grabbing onto Changkyun to steady himself as his vision blurs. 

“What’s happening? Minhyuk? Are you okay?” 

Minhyuk can hear Changkyun’s voice, so he tries to focus on his face, but his vision is so blurred it’s impossible to. Another dizzy wave passes over him and he stumbles backwards, almost falling, but Changkyun is there to catch him. 

Gently, Changkyun lowers Minhyuk to the ground so he’s sitting and crouches down in front of him. “Baby, what’s going on? What happened?”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel good,” Minhyuk replies vaguely. It’s not comfortable sitting on the ground, stones sticking into places he doesn’t want them sticking, but he doesn’t feel like he can stand back up right now. 

Changkyun’s hands gently cup Minhyuk’s face and he can see Changkyun’s eyes searching his face. “When did it start?”

“I don’t know. Sometime when Jooheon was talking,” Minhyuk says. “We shouldn’t be out here, Kyunnie. We need to get home.” Minhyuk makes to stand, but a firm hand on his shoulder prevents him. 

“We’re staying here,” Changkyun insists. “I’m calling Kihyun.” He quickly calls Kihyun, as he said, then after the brief call says, “He’s on the way.”

“He doesn’t need to come. I’m fine. I can get home.” His vision has returned to normal, at least, but Minhyuk isn’t sure he can stand up again right now, despite his words. 

Changkyun groans. “You’re so stubborn. I can’t get you home on my own, okay? We need Kihyun and then we can go.”

“We’re not safe out here,” Minhyuk reminds him. The last thing he wants is to lose Changkyun because his body betrayed him. The thought of the monster getting Changkyun right now brings the nausea back to the front of Minhyuk’s mind. He leans over to the side and heaves, but thankfully doesn’t vomit. 

“Come on, Kihyun, hurry up,” Changkyun mumbles to himself. He’s gently stroking Minhyuk’s cheeks with his thumbs and Minhyuk can tell he’s trying not to show his fear right now, but his leg is clearly shaking. 

“Go home,” Minhyuk says. “Tell Kihyun to go too. I’ll call a taxi to drive me back, but I don’t want either of you out here for longer than necessary.”

“I’m not leaving you here, idiot,” Changkyun says, and despite the situation there’s a certain fondness in his voice. 

While Minhyuk does really want Changkyun to go home as he’s incredibly concerned about the fact there’s a monster on the streets, he does feel glad that Changkyun isn’t going to leave him here. 

“Minhyuk! Changkyun!”

Minhyuk looks over his shoulder to see Kihyun jogging down the street towards them. When he reaches them, he’s panting from the exertion. “What’s going on?”

“I feel weird. Like I’m going to faint or something,” Minhyuk says. 

“If we help, can you stand? We need to get home. It’s not safe out here,” Kihyun says quickly, his eyes darting around the streets, checking every corner. 

“I think so.” If there was only Changkyun with him, Minhyuk’s not sure he could manage, but with both of his boyfriends he’s pretty sure they can make it home. 

With a lot of assistance from Changkyun and Kihyun, Minhyuk stands again. As soon as he does, his dizziness returns, but he has Changkyun and Kihyun to keep him steady. He puts an arm over each of their shoulders, and with some effort they begin the walk back home. 

It takes double the length of time it usually does, what with Minhyuk having to depend on Changkyun and Kihyun to keep him upright. Eventually, though, they make it back home without any monsters attacking them, which Minhyuk considers a win. 

Changkyun and Kihyun get Minhyuk lying down in bed and struggle together to change him from his uncomfortable work clothes into some pyjamas. Once Minhyuk’s tucked in and comfortable, he starts to feel exhaustion hit him like a truck. 

“Do you feel better now we’re home?” Changkyun asks, gently combing his fingers through Minhyuk’s hair. 

“Kinda. I really want to sleep,” Minhyuk answers, yawning at the end of his sentence. 

“We’ll leave you to sleep, then,” Kihyun says. He gently kisses Minhyuk’s forehead and whispers, “Night, angel.”

“Goodnight, baby,” Changkyun says. 

“Goodnight,” Minhyuk manages in reply, speaking through a yawn. He hears the door gently click shut and a few seconds later he falls into a restless sleep. 

* * *

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Changkyun asks Kihyun once he’s pretty sure Minhyuk’s fallen asleep in their room. He’s cuddled up with Kihyun on the sofa, his head resting against Kihyun’s chest while Kihyun runs his fingers lightly up and down Changkyun’s arm. 

“I don’t know,” Kihyun replies, and his voice is full of concern and worry. “What even happened?”

“I have no idea. He was fine one minute, then the next he almost fainted on me.” Changkyun tries to think back over everything that occurred since Minhyuk finishing work and the incident outside Plentiful Petals. “We had tea at Hyungwon and Jooheon’s, but we always drink tea, so I don’t know why it’d be that.”

“What were you there for, anyway?” Kihyun asks. 

Changkyun explains everything he’d discovered at work and recounts Jooheon’s story to Kihyun. “I think you’re definitely right about it being a monster. Jooheon said he didn’t think it was human.”

Kihyun’s hand stills for a moment, a signal that he’s lost in thought. “Could Minhyuk just be scared? And his body just reacted weirdly?” Kihyun offers. 

Changkyun considers it for a moment, then sighs. “I don’t think so. I think he’d just tell us if he’s that scared. He seemed to have no more idea what was going on than I did.”

“We should get him to go to the doctors, or something.”

Changkyun laughs, not because it’s funny or he disagrees, but because this is Minhyuk they’re talking about. Changkyun somehow found the two most stubborn people in the world to be his boyfriends. “He won’t go. He’ll insist he’s fine.”

Kihyun groans. “I know you’re right, and I know I’m the exact same so I can’t even complain.” He pauses, sighs. “I just want him to be okay.”

“I do, too. Hopefully it was just a weird one off thing. He’ll be back to normal tomorrow, I’m sure,” Changkyun reassures. 

“I hope so.”

Changkyun can feel the tension in Kihyun’s body still, even with his reassurances, so he sits up, to which Kihyun frowns at him, and asks, “Do you want a massage? You seem so stressed.”

“God, please,” Kihyun says instantly.

Changkyun gets off of the sofa to allow Kihyun to pull off his shirt and then lie down on his stomach. Changkyun kneels with a leg either side of Kihyun’s body. 

“Work has been so stressful,” Kihyun says. “I always wanted there to be something more to do because this town is so boring, but now I regret wishing for it. I’ve never been so stressed before.”

“I’ll make you less stressed, don’t worry,” Changkyun says. He starts at Kihyun’s shoulders, gently kneading with his thumbs to ease his tense muscles. After a minute or so of working at the muscles there, he starts to move his hands down Kihyun’s back, alternating between massaging him gently with his thumbs and then slightly deeper with the base of his hand. 

As he works, Kihyun lets out pleased little noises, and Changkyun eats them up, encouraging Kihyun to relax as he goes. 

When Changkyun finally reaches the base of Kihyun’s back, he leans down as he massages Kihyun and kisses him ever so gently between his shoulder blades. 

“Changkyun,” Kihyun warns, but his voice sounds so blissed and relaxed compared to earlier that Changkyun just grins. 

He gives up massaging Kihyun, and instead kisses gently down his back, working from the top of his spine down to the bottom. When he reaches the base of Kihyun’s spine, he hooks one finger under the waistband of his pants which are peeking out above his trousers and then lets go so it pings back against his skin. 

In an instant, Kihyun pulls himself out from under Changkyun and pushes his shoulders back so Changkyun’s back is resting against the arm of the sofa. As Kihyun stares at Changkyun, a cheeky smile comes to Changkyun’s face, which seems to only infuriate Kihyun further. The next second, Kihyun’s lips are on Changkyun’s own. This is nothing like the gentle kisses Changkyun had given to Kihyun before, this is one full of passion and heat. 

Changkyun feels Kihyun’s hand going towards his waistband and breaks off the kiss to mutter, “Minhyuk’s going to be disappointed when he finds out.”

“Well, we’ll just have to make it up to him some other time, won’t we?”

* * *

When Minhyuk wakes up, he has no idea what time it is. The only hint he has about what the time could be is the fact that the bed is empty apart from him. So, that leaves two options. Either he only slept for a short time and it’s too early in the evening for Changkyun and Kihyun to have come to bed yet, or he somehow miraculously slept through the entire night. 

Cautiously, Minhyuk pulls himself out of bed and stands, and all the lightheadedness that he’d dealt with before has completely gone, which he’s incredibly grateful for. He has no idea what happened, but he definitely doesn’t want to deal with that again anytime soon. 

Now that he feels able to walk around freely again without collapsing, Minhyuk ventures out of his room. His stomach grumbles as he realises he never ate dinner, so he should probably go quickly make himself something to eat. (Chances are, anyway, that Changkyun and Kihyun will have left him some leftovers to eat.)

Minhyuk only makes it a few steps into the living room when he spots the blanket fort sitting in the centre of the room. The blankets are being held up by chairs from the kitchen, and the pillows from the sofa are now inside the fort instead of where they usually are. Fairy lights surround the fort, but they look rather haphazard like they were just thrown on at the end, which Minhyuk doesn’t doubt is the case. Changkyun and Kihyun are inside the fort, lazily making out. They’re too caught up in each other to have noticed Minhyuk’s appearance in the room, and a smile comes to Minhyuk’s face. 

“Did you forget about me?”

Changkyun and Kihyun break apart and both look up at him, wide eyed. It’s amusing to see the shock on their faces, like they’ve just been caught doing something they shouldn’t, paired with their reddened lips and messy hair. 

“Are you just going to stare? Where’s my kisses?” Minhyuk pouts for added emphasis. 

Kihyun’s the first one to shake himself out of it. “Come here,” he says, patting the floor beside him. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, I am,” Minhyuk says as he joins his boyfriends in their little pillow fort. It’s a tight squeeze, but they all manage to fit. “Whatever happened is gone now.”

“If it comes back, you should go to a doctor,” Kihyun says. 

“If it comes back, yeah.” Minhyuk won’t be going to a doctor because he doesn’t need to. It was just a one off thing, anyway. He’s completely fine now. “What time even is it?”

“About 8,” Changkyun replies. “You didn’t sleep for too long.”

“I just hope I can sleep again tonight.” Minhyuk grabs one of the spare pillows that’s not being used and rests his head on it.

Kihyun imitates him, putting his head down on his own pillow, facing Minhyuk. 

Changkyun’s annoyed face can be seen over Kihyun’s shoulder. “I’m being left out,” he complains. 

Kihyun rolls his eyes, then turns over, and tugs Changkyun down to kiss him. Then, he says, “You’re such a baby.”

“Our baby,” Minhyuk corrects, just to see the pleased smile on Changkyun’s face. “Did I miss much while I was asleep?”

“We had a stir fry for dinner,” Kihyun says. “There’s leftovers if you want some.”

“The stir fry wasn’t the only thing I ate, if you know what I mean,” Changkyun adds, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

Kihyun and Minhyuk groan simultaneously, which sends Changkyun into a fit of laughter. 

“You make the worst jokes,” Kihyun says. “The absolute worst.”

“And yet you decided to spend the rest of your life with me.”

Kihyun rolls his eyes fondly. “Yeah, I did.”

A smile comes to Minhyuk’s face once again. Everything that Changkyun and Kihyun do makes him smile, really. They’re his biggest source of happiness. 

“Do you think we should start trying to find this monster?” Changkyun asks suddenly. “I mean, Jooheon basically confirmed that it’s a monster, and what else are we going to find?”

Minhyuk considers it. While having more information would be ideal, Changkyun’s right in that there probably  _ isn’t  _ any more information they can find. Kihyun’s already interviewed basically everyone in town, and Minhyuk had no luck finding out anything from asking around at work. Everyone just has the same information. Changkyun got lucky finding out about Jooheon, but the chances of that happening again are slim. 

“I don’t know,” Kihyun says. “Aren’t we rushing into this?”

“It’s better to rush than wait around for people to start dying,” Minhyuk says, his mind made up. 

Kihyun hums, considering. “Okay, fine. Tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow night,” Changkyun agrees. 

* * *

Kihyun sighs as he stares disdainfully up at the door to the loft. Despite Changkyun being the one to insist that they should get started on hunting down this monster, he’d been completely against going up into the loft to get the supplies they might need. 

Minhyuk had also refused to go up there, claiming there might be a ghost and Kihyun’s the only one of them equipped to deal with a ghost, which makes no sense, but Kihyun found he couldn’t argue with it. 

So, that means Kihyun has to go up. Alone. 

It’s not a ghost that Kihyun’s afraid of, and it’s not spiders or anything like that, it’s having to face the ridiculous amount of stuff that they’ve accumulated that doesn’t need to be accessed easily or constantly and so has been shoved into the loft in storage. 

Kihyun sighs then steps up onto the chair he brought up with him, the latch being too high to reach on his own. He unhooks the latch and lets the door fall open. Instantly a cloud of dust appears and he coughs and covers his mouth to try and not breathe it in. 

Once the dust clears, Kihyun carefully pulls down the ladder from inside. He steps down from the chair and moves it aside so that the ladder reaches the floor. He shakes it gently to test it, and it seems to be mostly stable, so he climbs up it and into the loft. 

The sight that greets him is worse than he imagined. There’s stuff  _ everywhere _ and there seems to be absolutely no order to it. Boxes upon boxes upon boxes are scattered everywhere, dumped haphazardly in the nearest place by the looks of things. 

Kihyun groans as he takes it all in. One of these days he’s going to have to come up here (and drag Changkyun and Minhyuk with him whether they like it or not) and finally organise it and sort everything out. They own far too many things, and Kihyun is almost certain that the majority of items up here they don’t even remember that they own. 

The first thing Kihyun needs to find is where in the world their torches have gone. He  _ knows _ they own at least two of them, but he’d checked every single drawer and cupboard all through the house and hadn’t found any, so the loft is the last place they could possibly be. If they’re not up here, Kihyun has no idea where they’ll be, but waiting around in the dark for a monster without any torches sounds like a recipe for disaster. 

Kihyun starts his search methodically in one corner of the room. Some of the boxes he finds are labelled, but upon peeking inside he realises that the items don’t match the labels, so he’s going to have to check every box. 

He goes through each and every one, shoving things around to dig deeper into the boxes in case the torches are buried under something, but they seem to have just completely gone missing. 

Although Kihyun tries hard not to get distracted by things he hasn’t seen in a while, things that hold a lot of nostalgia for him and stay focused on his task, he comes across an old scrapbook that he can’t help but pause upon spotting it. 

Kihyun pulls out the scrapbook from the shelf and blows the dust off it. A smile comes to his face when he sees the cover again after so many years - it has a selfie of Kihyun, Changkyun and Minhyuk making funny faces surrounded by a bunch of heart stickers - and he sits down on the floor to look through it. 

He opens the first page up and cringes when he reads back his own letter he wrote to Changkyun and Minhyuk. Even now, seeing himself be so sappy just makes him cringe. He can’t help it. 

The scrapbook was made a few years ago by Kihyun as a joint Christmas present for Changkyun and Minhyuk. Kihyun’s always had a passion for photography, and that extended into his personal life. He realised one day that he has hundreds of photos of Changkyun and Minhyuk, and even the occasional one featuring Kihyun too, and he wanted to do something with the photos instead of just letting them sit on a hard drive forever, and so the idea of the scrapbook was born. 

Kihyun worked hard on it, spent every free second he had to make it, and Changkyun and Minhyuk had been so happy with it when he gave it to them on Christmas day that all the hours he’d put into it felt so worth it. During the move into the house they live in now it had gone missing, but Kihyun’s glad to know now that it’s actually still in the house and not gone forever. 

He flips through a few pages, smiling at all of the old photos of Changkyun and Minhyuk that he picked out to put in here, and cringing a lot reading the captions and notes that he left in here. 

Kihyun doesn’t know how long he sits there looking through the scrapbook and reminiscing about old times, but when he reaches the end he feels happy and nostalgic. 

He needs to make another updated scrapbook for the last few years at some point. 

Kihyun places the scrapbook down by the door to remind himself to bring it down with him - he’s sure Changkyun and Minhyuk will appreciate seeing it again after so long - and then gets back to looking for the torches. 

He spends what must be an hour going through everything to find these damn torches, only to come up empty handed by the end of it. He does, however, find a baseball bat that he doesn’t remember ever owning and decides it’s probably worth bringing that with them on their hunt. It’s not the best weapon, and it probably is useless against a monster (not that Kihyun knows anything about monsters. He did only just discover they’re real the other day, after all) but it’s better than nothing. 

Kihyun shoots off a quick text to Minhyuk to ask him and Changkyun to buy them new torches if they’re not back yet. He hasn’t heard them come back, so presumably they’re still out in town buying ‘supplies’. (Really, they’re buying snacks and pretending it’s important which is why they couldn’t help Kihyun out in the loft.)

Giving up on his quest for torches, Kihyun grabs the baseball bat and scrapbook and leaves the loft. After he puts the ladder away and closes the hatch back up, he decides to go wait downstairs for Minhyuk and Changkyun to get home.

* * *

They have everything ready. Kihyun’s double checked twice just to be sure. 

Minhyuk looks at Kihyun, then at Changkyun. Then, he takes a deep breath and says, “I guess we’re doing this, then.”

Stepping out of their front door into the dark of night feels different than it ever has before. When hunting the monster had been a mere idea, something they’d all just entertained as a possibility, it hadn’t been so bad. Minhyuk hadn’t really thought anything of it. 

But now? Now it feels real, finally real, and it’s terrifying. 

They’re actually doing this. They’re actually going out to hunt a monster. 

It sounds ridiculous when Minhyuk thinks about it. Monsters even existing is an absurd enough thought, one that Minhyuk never thought he’d even entertain, but now he’s out hunting one. 

The fear that courses through his veins as they walk down towards the high street - huddled close together, but without talking, taking slow, cautious steps - isn’t just for himself. He isn’t afraid of what might happen to him. He’s afraid for his boyfriends, of anything bad happening to them, of either of them getting hurt. He’s not sure he could forgive himself if one of them got hurt, even if the idea wasn’t his to begin with. He still agreed to it, and so if something bad happens, that’s on him. 

But he’s getting ahead of himself. Nothing bad has even happened yet. He should worry about that  _ if _ it even happens. 

The fear and anxiety only grows as they sneak through the back streets, barely making a sound as they walk, scared that if they’re too loud the monster might hear them. If the monster is even out right now, that is. 

Minhyuk so desperately wants to ask Kihyun and Changkyun to turn around and go home, but he doesn’t want to be a coward. They’re doing this for the sake of their whole town, for everyone in it.

So, he powers on and tries to push the fear out of his mind. 

The walk to the high street is long, but they make it eventually. Kihyun points to one of the empty buildings and so they make their way towards it. The three of them take a seat in front of the building to start their mission of watching and waiting. 

“Remember, we’re not doing anything today. We’re just observing to see if anything happens,” Kihyun whispers, and after the long silence ever since they left the house his voice brings comfort to Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk and Changkyun both nod affirmatively. 

Kihyun nods back. “And now we wait.”


	3. Chapter 3

Two hours pass of sitting and waiting with only a minimal amount of talking and Minhyuk having to stop himself falling asleep multiple times before Kihyun sighs and suggests they go home. 

The walk back home isn’t as quiet and tense as it was there because at this point they’ve given up with any hope of seeing the monster tonight, so what does it matter if they make noise?

When they finally get back home, they get themselves ready for bed and Kihyun and Changkyun quickly fall asleep. Minhyuk, however, despite having been barely able to stay awake while they were outside, finds that he just can’t fall asleep. 

Quietly, he slips out of bed and heads into the garden. It’s cold outside, but he takes a blanket with him wrapped around his shoulders to keep himself warm. 

The sound of the leaves rustling as the wind blows through them brings a comfort to Minhyuk that he really needs right now. 

He finds himself disappointed by the events of the night. He’d been so scared and worried when they’d been walking into town, sure, but as time went on he found himself hoping more and more to at least see or hear the monster or just  _ something _ . 

But there was nothing. And that disappoints him. 

Minhyuk finds it hard to explain what it is about it that disappoints him, as really he should be relieved that nothing happened, but he just can’t help feeling it. He’d wanted confirmation, maybe, that it wasn’t a human doing these awful things to people, that there isn’t someone terrible hiding among them. Or maybe he’d been hoping for something different, something new and exciting, and nothing could be more different and exciting than a monster in the flesh. 

But one failed night doesn’t mean it’s the end. He knows Changkyun and Kihyun and he knows neither of them will give up on it. They want this town safe just as much as he does, and he knows they’ll stop at nothing to fix this, and neither will Minhyuk. 

Even so, the disappointment still weighs on Minhyuk’s mind. 

The wind blows harder and so Minhyuk wraps the blanket tighter around himself. 

He wonders, maybe, if it’s not really a monster doing all of this, but a human, and they’d heard about Minhyuk and Changkyun asking questions and decided to go into hiding. With everyone in the town knowing each other, it’s almost impossible that if it was someone in their town that they wouldn’t know that Minhyuk and Changkyun are dating a detective. 

But would it really be a human doing all of this? What Jooheon had described seeing most definitely wasn’t a human, but maybe it’s a costume?

Would anyone really go to all of that trouble, though? It seems a bit far fetched that someone would bother dressing up to terrorise people in town, but then again, what does Minhyuk know? Maybe that’s something people enjoy. 

The thought of it possibly being a human doing all of these awful things makes Minhyuk sick to his stomach. All along he’d been telling himself that it must be an animal attacking people because there’s no way someone with such darkness inside their heart could possibly be in Mulwich. Nothing bad ever happens in Mulwich. It’s safe here, it’s Minhyuk’s  _ home.  _

Then, when Kihyun had come home and suggested that maybe it’s a monster doing all of this, Minhyuk had clung to that idea instead. Even if he hadn’t quite fully believed in monsters, it was still the only idea in his head that made any sort of sense. 

Monsters are bad creatures. They’re what you grow up afraid of and desperate to avoid. There’s not a single positive about monsters, and so a monster causing harm and terror to their community only makes sense. If monsters exist, they’re going to do bad things. That’s just what a monster is. 

But where does the line lie between a monster as is told to them in horror stories and a human who has no good in them?

A monster  _ is _ doing this to their town, that’s something Minhyuk is certain on, but the specifics of what, or _ who, _ that monster is, that’s something Minhyuk can’t quite define just yet. 

He hopes so desperately that tonight is a sign of a new beginning, that they didn’t see any sign of the monster because it’s gone now, but the pessimist in him tells him that’s not the case. There’s a reason that they didn’t see a monster tonight, and what that reason is Minhyuk doesn’t quite know, but he doesn’t think it’s a good thing. 

There’s something going on here, something scary in their little town of Mulwich, and Minhyuk is afraid. 

He’s so afraid. 

A crunch sounds behind him and Minhyuk whips around, only to see a bleary eyed Kihyun standing at the back door. 

“Christ, you scared the shit out of me,” Minhyuk says, willing his wildly beating heart to calm down. 

“Sorry,” Kihyun says through a yawn. “Why are you out here? Come to bed.”

“I was thinking. I’ll come back in a second. Go back to sleep.”

Kihyun looks reluctant to go, but his sleepiness clearly wins over as he yawns once more then turns around and goes back inside. “Don’t be too long,” he calls out as he leaves. 

Minhyuk sits there for a few minutes longer, no longer thinking, just letting himself enjoy the stillness of the night. He looks up at the bright, full moon shining down above him, sighs, and then goes back inside to bed to get some much needed sleep. 

The monster issue can be dealt with another day. 

* * *

Kihyun stares at the file in his hands, debating whether he really wants to be doing this. 

Looking over the file the first time was bad enough. Reading about the brutal murders that had taken place because of the monster all those years ago was horrible and awful. Kihyun has read all sorts of files and cases over his time as a detective, some more gruesome than others, but something about this one just disgusts him in a different way - terrifies him, even.

It’s probably because the same thing is happening again, right here, right now, and there’s nothing he can do about it. 

He takes a deep breath, prepares himself for what he’s about to read, and opens the file once again. 

Chanwook Lee. The murderer. The  _ monster. _ A huge photo of his face is plastered on the front page of the file alongside his name and all of his details. Kihyun stares into the eyes of the man that somehow was able to transform into a terrifying monster and torment an entire town. 

He doesn’t look like a monster, or a murderer, or anything of the sort. He looks  _ normal _ and that’s what scares Kihyun the most. 

He wonders, distantly, if he was even aware that he was turning into a beast and doing all of these heinous acts. Was it a conscious choice or an uncontrollable situation?

Kihyun wishes he knew the man’s whereabouts, wishes he could ask him all of these questions, quiz him on everything that happened back then until he couldn’t ask any more. But no one’s seen him ever since the day he escaped his cell. 

Kihyun flips past the next pages, many of them, all detailing the attacks and then murders that took place. He doesn’t want to read about them again. The first time was enough.

He can’t bear to read over them again, even. 

Kihyun flips to the page about the day Chanwook escaped, reads over the eyewitness accounts of what they saw leave that cell instead of a man. 

_ ‘A terrifying beast.’ _

_ ‘A huge, black shape. It wasn’t human.’ _

_ ‘He became something else - otherworldly. A demon perhaps.’ _

_ ‘He was a monster.’ _

Even with all of the words written down in front of him, with all the knowledge that Kihyun has, he still finds it hard to believe that this ever happened, or that it’s happening again.

He  _ knows _ it’s happening again. They might have missed the monster last night when they’d tried to hunt for it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still out there, waiting for it’s next chance to strike.

And that brings Kihyun back to the question of whether it’s a conscious choice to become this monster. 

Whoever it is that’s attacking the people in Mulwich - in  _ his _ town - do they know that they’re doing it? Do they make the decision to become this foul beast, this demon, this  _ monster _ at night and attack innocent strangers? Or is it something uncontrollable? Are they aware of their actions, even? Are the monster and the human one, or are they simply two beings that share a body, but bear no other attachment?

Kihyun groans and runs a hand through his hair. There’s just so many questions and so few answers. 

He was so sure that finding the file and having the knowledge that whatever it is that’s happening in their town isn’t a human nor an animal, it’s something else entirely, would bring him some sense of comfort, a feeling of accomplishment, bring him closer to discovering the truth.

Yet all it’s done is leave him more and more confused with even more questions on his mind. 

He flips the file back to the first page, stares at the photo of Chanwook, tries to make sense of everything. 

But it’s an impossible situation, one he can’t make sense of, and probably will never be able to. 

Hyunwoo strolls into the room, a burrito in his hand, and pauses when he spots Kihyun. “What are you doing?” he asks. 

“Can you take a look at this file with me?” Kihyun asks. Hyunwoo had been in the room when Kihyun found the file the first time around, but he hadn’t read over it himself. Kihyun had been too absorbed in reading over the information on his own and then relaying it back to his boyfriends that he hadn’t thought to ask Hyunwoo his opinion.

But maybe a fresh pair of eyes will come in handy. 

Hyunwoo sits in the chair beside Kihyun’s and takes a bite out of his burrito. 

Kihyun slides the file over in front of Hyunwoo. “This contains all the information about a serial killer from many years ago, but it matches up to what we’re dealing with today. I didn’t tell you about it before because, well, when you read it you’ll understand.”

“Okay. Let me take a look.”

Kihyun sits in silence and watches Hyunwoo as he reads through the file, flipping the pages with one hand and eating his burrito with the other. Kihyun sees various emotions flash on Hyunwoo’s face as he reads and takes the information in. 

When he’s done, Hyunwoo stares at Kihyun like he’s seen a ghost.

It’s exactly how Kihyun had looked when he’d first finished reading, he’s sure. 

“So, you think that this guy is back? And it’s a monster attacking people?”

“Kinda,” Kihyun says. “I don’t know if it’s the same guy, or if it’s someone new. But the monster part, yes. It sounds absurd, I know, but I can’t think of another explanation.”

“I don’t want to believe it,” Hyunwoo says, “but it checks out.”

Kihyun feels comforted that he’s not the only one to believe that it must be a monster and not a person or an animal. Changkyun and Minhyuk both believe him, sure, but that’s because they trust Kihyun’s word, not because they’ve seen the evidence themselves. 

“I have no idea how to catch a monster,” Hyunwoo admits. 

“I don’t either. But I’m going to find a way.”

* * *

Minhyuk lays a blanket gently over Changkyun and Kihyun where they’re sleeping cuddled up together on the sofa. He smiles as he looks at them, so fond of the both of them. 

Minhyuk turns away and sighs and sits down on their armchair so he doesn’t disturb them. He wishes he was asleep with them right now, but for some reason he just finds that he can’t fall asleep. 

He’s so exhausted. So,  _ so _ exhausted, and yet whenever he tries to sleep, it takes him hours before he’s able to stop thinking and worrying about this damn monster enough to finally fall into a slumber. 

Today is no different. Of course, it’s still only the evening, not actually a time when one should be asleep just yet, but after the late night last night followed by working all day, Minhyuk, Kihyun and Changkyun found themselves completely wiped. They’re going out to see if they can spot the monster tonight once again, even though Minhyuk has little hope of it actually happening, and so they’d all decided together to take a nap to prepare for the night ahead and get some much needed sleep. 

For Changkyun and Kihyun, that had worked out just fine. They’d seemed to fall asleep without any sort of struggle, not even making it to the bedroom with their exhaustion. Minhyuk hadn’t found it so easy, which leads him to where he is now, stuck awake with nothing to do while his boyfriends sleep soundly nearby. 

Other than the thoughts about the monster that plague his mind, whenever Minhyuk closes his eyes he keeps seeing these strange… visions? He’s not sure what to class them as. He wouldn’t say they’re necessarily visions, he doesn’t think he suddenly gained the ability to see the future, but it’s hard to find the words to describe what they could be. Memories, maybe, but that would imply he’s seeing something that’s happened to him before, and these aren’t something he has experienced. They’re strange, vague, impossible to put into words. They feel  _ sinister _ . 

So, maybe there’s a couple of reasons that Minhyuk’s struggling to sleep at the moment. And he’s finding that even when he does sleep, he doesn’t wake up feeling rested in the slightest, as if he never fell asleep in the first place. 

He wonders if this god forsaken monster somehow can affect people’s sleep, because if so he needs to have a stern talking with it. 

Minhyuk chuckles lightly at his own thought pattern. Talking to a monster. Imagine that. 

He sits on the sofa for a bit longer, tries to shut his eyes and get to sleep, but it still doesn’t come to him as hard as he tries, so he decides he might as well get up and do something productive to pass the time. 

There are some chores that have been neglected, mostly by Changkyun and himself, because Kihyun’s never left a chore undone in his life, so he decides he might as well get on with that. 

He goes to the kitchen first because that’s always the place with the most things to do. The most important thing is to finally put away the dishes sitting on the drying rack where they’ve been for a few days. He’s surprised Kihyun let them sit there for so long without making a comment or putting them away himself, but he’s been so preoccupied with everything else that’s going on that maybe Minhyuk shouldn’t be so surprised. 

It doesn’t take long to put the dishes away, even with him being careful not to make too much noise with them as to not wake Changkyun and Kihyun up. 

The next most important job is to take the bins out. Again, it takes almost no time, and he wonders why he has such a habit of putting these things off, when they take such a short time and leave him feeling satisfied and accomplished after. Laziness is the answer, probably. 

He would hoover, but it makes far too much noise, so he decides to forgo that. Also because hoovering sucks, so any excuse to not do it he’ll take. 

He ends up passing the time by folding all of the clothes that have been left in a messy pile in the corner of their room that no one wanted to put away, and then reorganising their already folded clothes slightly so they’re less messy in the drawers. 

He ends up spending an hour doing it, which flies by thankfully, and now that it’s finally dark out he can wake Changkyun and Kihyun up finally.

“Wake up,” he says quietly, gently shaking both of them. 

Kihyun blinks himself awake first, and he smiles as soon as he sees Minhyuk’s face in front of him. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Minhyuk says, then kisses Kihyun. 

Changkyun is harder to wake up and takes some coaxing from the two of them (and many kisses once he finally opens his eyes because he’s a baby who needs constant affection from his boyfriends to do anything) but eventually the three of them find themselves up and ready for their second night of monster hunting. 

Well, hunting maybe isn’t the right term. Potential observation is probably better since none of them are equipped to actually  _ do _ anything to a monster. 

They sneak down to the high street and return to their previous spot as it’s the best one they can find that provides them the best cover. They don’t make as much effort to be quiet after nothing happened the other night, but Minhyuk still tries not to be too loud. 

“Do you think we’ll see anything tonight?” Changkyun asks in a whisper when they’ve finally settled into their positions. 

“I don’t know,” Minhyuk answers honestly. At this point he doesn’t know if he actually wants to see something just so all their time feels like it’s been worth something, or if he really hopes they see nothing because actually seeing a monster with his own eyes sounds downright terrifying. 

And so they sit and they wait. Occasionally they’ll make comments to each other, but most of the time is spent in silence and anticipation of what might come. 

Minhyuk’s exhaustion finally starts to catch up to him as they wait and he finds himself almost nodding off multiple times. Eventually, Changkyun and Kihyun decide it’s about time for him to get home. 

“Go to bed, Min,” Kihyun says, gently rubbing Minhyuk’s back which only serves to make him sleepier. “We’ll wait out here for a bit longer.”

“I’m not tired,” Minhyuk insists even though it’s obvious he is. 

Kihyun sighs. “Go home. Get some rest.”

Minhyuk doesn’t want to abandon his boyfriends right now, not when something bad could happen to them at any moment, but he really doesn’t think he can stay awake much longer. So, reluctantly, Minhyuk says his goodbyes and returns home. 

He doesn’t bother to sneak along back roads or anything on his return. He’s too tired to care if a monster might get him. 

He makes it home safely, and as soon as Minhyuk’s head hits the pillow he’s out like a light. 

* * *

Kihyun’s head rests against Changkyun’s shoulder and every few minutes Changkyun hears him yawn. “You sleepy?” he asks after the third yawn that sounds from Kihyun. 

“No,” Kihyun says, only to yawn again right after. “Okay, maybe.”

“We should go home,” Changkyun suggests. It’s been around an hour since Minhyuk went home, and he’d been out with them for close to two hours before he’d finally given in to his own exhaustion, and so Changkyun’s starting to doubt they’ll see anything tonight. 

It’s slightly disappointing, really, to have not seen anything. He would’ve thought by this time in the night the monster would’ve appeared. All of the attacks reported happened not long after the sunset, so really there’s no reason for the monster not to have appeared to them. 

“We need to wait and see if the monster will come,” Kihyun says, and even from his voice Changkyun can tell that he’s barely keeping himself awake. 

“I don’t think it’s coming tonight, love.”

“It might do. We should wait.”

Changkyun rolls his eyes. How did he get stuck dating the two most stubborn men on earth? It’s amazing that Minhyuk went home without so much of a fight, but he should’ve known that the ease of getting Minhyuk to listen to him only meant that he’d have to deal with Kihyun being extra stubborn later on instead. That’s just how it seems to work. 

“Don’t you wanna be home with Minhyuk? In our nice warm bed?” Changkyun tries.

Kihyun hums as he considers it and Changkyun knows he’s got him. “Okay. We’ll try again some other time.”

As soon as he says the words, a low rumbling sound comes from somewhere down the street. Changkyun frowns and looks in the direction it came from, but it’s so dark it’s impossible to make anything out. 

“Did you hear that?” he asks Kihyun in a whisper. 

“Was it thunder?” Kihyun suggests, but one quick look at the sky clear of clouds in all directions answers that question easily. 

Neither of them move. They sit very, very still. 

Changkyun feels himself barely breathe. It could have been nothing, it probably was nothing, but something about that noise has really unsettled him. 

The minutes slowly tick by where nothing happens, and Changkyun decides enough is enough and they should really get home. He makes to stand, but the second he does that rumbling sounds again, but closer this time. 

And Changkyun realises exactly why it had unsettled him so much - it sounds like growling. 

Changkyun keeps his eyes trained straight ahead of him. He knows that if he looks to the right, he’s going to see something that he can’t forget. So, he doesn’t move. 

“Changkyun,” Kihyun whispers, dread in his voice. 

Changkyun turns his head and finally sees it. There, just down the street from them, is a huge, black shape. It’s vaguely human shaped - two arms, two legs, a head - but so much larger. There’s no details that can be made out other than the general outline as the monster is completely black, nothing but a shadow, but it’s surrounded by black mist? Smoke? Maybe it’s part of its body, Changkyun can’t tell, and the strange mist is constantly moving and changing. 

Changkyun feels his heart in his throat. Now they’re done for. They wanted to see the monster, and now they finally have, and the monster has seen them too. 

If it had visible eyes, Changkyun would assume they’d be locked onto him and Kihyun. 

Then, unexpectedly, the monster growls once again, turns and the next second it’s gone. 

Changkyun looks at Kihyun and finds him as white as a sheet. “Home,” he manages to get out. 

Changkyun nods. He takes Kihyun’s hand in his own and he can’t tell which of them are shaking. It could be him or it could be Kihyun, or maybe it’s even both of them. 

So desperately Changkyun wants to run straight home, but if they’ve learnt anything, it’s that sneaking and staying very, very quiet works better around this monster. So, against what his mind is screaming at him to do, Changkyun walks the streets slowly with Kihyun at his side. 

“Minhyuk,” Kihyun says suddenly. 

“Fuck,” Changkyun mumbles. He pulls his phone out of his pocket with his free hand and dials Minhyuk’s number. 

It rings and rings and rings, but he doesn’t pick up and Changkyun’s fear and panic only grows. He tries again and again - all the way home he calls Minhyuk’s phone, yet there is no answer. 

When they finally,  _ finally  _ make it into their house, into safety, they both go running upstairs to their bedroom. As Kihyun throws the door open, Changkyun’s terrified of what he might see. 

But, thankfully, Minhyuk’s sound asleep in their bed, and Changkyun finds a loud laugh bubble out of him at the sheer relief he feels at seeing Minhyuk safe and sound. 

* * *

Minhyuk is woken up rather unceremoniously when a body hits his heavily. He tries to sit up, disoriented, but the weight of whoever is lying on top of him keeps him pinned in place. 

For a moment, Minhyuk panics, thinks someone’s broken into his house and trapped him in his sleep, but then he hears Changkyun’s voice muttering, “Oh, thank god.”

Minhyuk looks down and sees that it’s Changkyun who’s decided to plaster himself on top of Minhyuk. “What’s going on?”

A second body joins them - Kihyun. He wraps himself around the both of them, his breath coming out ragged. “The monster,” he mumbles. 

In an instant Minhyuk rolls Changkyun off of him, despite Changkyun’s protests, and sits up. He quickly looks over Changkyun and Kihyun, his eyes rapidly flicking between the two of them, trying to see any visible harm on either of them. 

When he sees nothing obvious, he sags with relief slightly. “What happened?” he asks. 

Changkyun reaches out for him, so Minhyuk pulls him into a hug. He lets Changkyun curl up around him, because he clearly needs it right now. 

Kihyun is obviously affected too, but he’s holding back, Minhyuk can tell. He’s letting Changkyun take the attention, get the comfort first. He’s probably thinking that his comfort can come later. 

Minhyuk grips Kihyun’s hand in his own and gives it a squeeze. 

The grateful smile Kihyun gives him tells Minhyuk that he was right. 

So, Minhyuk turns his attention to Changkyun who’s sniffling quietly in his lap. “Kyunnie, baby, tell me what happened.”

Changkyun goes silent for a few moments, even his sniffing stopping, and then he says words that Minhyuk knew were coming, but still feels shocked to hear. 

“We saw the monster.”

Minhyuk feels like his mind comes to a halt. He’d known that seeing the monster was a possibility, it’s exactly what they’d set out to try and achieve, but he’d also come to accept that they probably never would. 

But no. Changkyun and Kihyun had seen the monster - and Minhyuk hadn’t been there to protect them. 

“You saw it?” Minhyuk repeats when he finds his voice, because he still can’t quite believe it. “What did it look like?”

“It was huge. And black. And smokey.”

Well, it sounds like a monster for sure, but that doesn’t sound like any monsters that Minhyuk’s ever heard about before. Not that his knowledge of monsters can really count for anything, because he just knows about all of the fictional ones he’s seen in movies and on TV shows and read in books, and are any of those really accurate representations of monsters? He doubts it. 

“Did it do anything?” He checks over both of them for visible signs of anything happening once again. He still doesn’t see anything, which reassures him. 

“No.” It’s Kihyun who speaks this time. His eyes are still wide and there’s a faraway look in them, like he’s not completely here in the room, not completely present. 

“It growled really loud. It was terrifying,” Changkyun says. “I thought that was it for us. I thought it would get us. I mean, it was right there.” He pauses, takes a moment to compose himself. “But then it just growled again and it left. I don’t know why it left.”

Minhyuk feels his heart clench. He can’t even begin to imagine how Changkyun and Kihyun are feeling right now, and he feels his guilt for leaving them grow and grow. 

But now isn’t the time for Minhyuk’s feelings. He needs to focus on giving his boyfriends the comfort they need. 

“You’re safe now. You’re fine,” Minhyuk says, stroking Changkyun’s hair. “It can’t get you here.”

Changkyun cries quietly against Minhyuk’s chest, but his sobs eventually quiet as he falls asleep. 

Gently, Minhyuk lays Changkyun down and tucks him in. He probably should wake him up, get him to change into pyjamas, but he doesn’t have the heart to do it. 

Now that he knows Changkyun is asleep, Minhyuk turns his full attention to Kihyun. He still looks pale and shaken up and Minhyuk hates seeing him look like that. 

“Do you want to sleep or shall we have a sit down with some hot chocolate?” Minhyuk asks, being sure to keep his voice quiet so he doesn’t wake Changkyun up. 

“I can’t sleep yet,” Kihyun replies, equally as quiet. 

“Come on, then.” Minhyuk stands and holds his hand out. 

Kihyun slips his hand into Minhyuk’s, and they walk downstairs together, hand in hand. 

As Minhyuk goes through the cupboards to try and figure out where they left their hot chocolate, Kihyun sits at the kitchen table. His eyes keep flickering between the windows as if he expects something to be out there, so Minhyuk quietly shuts their blinds. 

They don’t speak as Minhyuk goes about making their hot chocolates. He knows that when Kihyun’s feeling down and doesn’t want to be alone, he often just wants the presence of someone else beside him without the effort of conversation. 

Minhyuk sets the mugs down on the table once he’s finished making them, one in front of Kihyun and one in front of him.

“Thanks,” Kihyun says. He wraps his hands around the mug - it’s cold in here so he’s probably trying to warm himself up. 

Minhyuk takes a sip of his hot chocolate and hisses when it’s too hot and burns his tongue. 

Kihyun laughs lightly, shaking his head. “You always do that. You never learn, do you?”

“I have to stay on brand,” Minhyuk replies. “It wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t burning my tongue.”

Kihyun smiles. A small smile, but a smile nonetheless. Minhyuk’s glad to see it on his face instead of the terrified expression he’d been wearing before. 

All of a sudden, Kihyun sighs and the smile disappears. “What are we going to do?”

And that’s a question that Minhyuk can’t answer. He doesn’t know where to go from here. Their plan had only gone as far as seeing the monster to confirm it exists before they move on to anything else. But now that they know it exists, what do they do?

“I don’t know,” Minhyuk replies honestly, “but we’ll figure it out.”

Kihyun hums. He takes a sip of his hot chocolate and then seems to drift off into thought. 

Minhyuk decides not to disturb him. 

Together, they finish off their hot chocolates in silence. 

“I’m going to bed,” Kihyun says once he finishes off his drink. “You coming?”

“I’m going to stay up for a bit,” Minhyuk replies. 

Kihyun kisses him goodnight and then disappears upstairs to bed. 

Minhyuk sits for a moment longer at the table before he makes his way into the living room instead where his laptop is. He might not have seen the monster himself, but that’s not going to stop him from doing some research to try and see if he can find any information that might be useful to them. 

The first few pages of Google only give him useless information. Not that he’s really surprised - monsters are supposed to be fictional, after all - but it’s still a little disappointing. He wants to feel  _ useful.  _ He wants to be able to do something about this situation, because now that they’ve confirmed this monster exists, and he’s seen how rattled Changkyun and Kihyun are, he feels like it falls on his shoulders to figure out their next step. 

But their next step isn’t an obvious one. He has no idea where to even possibly go next, because he has no idea how you’re meant to stop a monster. Are there effective weapons against them? Ineffective weapons? A way to capture them?

There are so many questions and so little answers. So, that’s why he’s turned to Google for answers. Except, Google is about as useless as Minhyuk feels. Why does no one have any information online about real life monsters rather than just the fictional ones? Surely someone somewhere is also aware that they  _ actually _ exist. It can’t be possible that the only monster in the world is in their little town of Mulwich. Minhyuk refuses to believe that. 

So, he digs deeper. He scrolls through pages and pages of Google, checking each and every link that comes up in the hopes that he’ll find some information about real life monsters, only to come up blank. 

After two hours of endless clicking on links, reading through pages of information and a whole lot of disappointment, Minhyuk’s eyes are beginning to burn. He looks at the clock and notes that it’s 2am. He really should be in bed right now. If he goes up to sleep now, he’ll at least get an extra few hours in before he has to wake up for work tomorrow (well, today) but Minhyuk’s not always one to pick the smart option, and so he decides to stay up. 

Just another hour, he tells himself. He just needs to find  _ something _ and then he’ll go to bed. 

As his first search had been so unsuccessful despite how deep he’d dug, Minhyuk decides to try another tactic. Logically, if he’s going to find any information about real life monsters, it’s most likely going to come from someone’s personal account. So, with that in mind, Minhyuk searches specifically for blog posts instead. 

He spends another hour perusing all sorts of blog posts, getting distracted by some of them which turned out to be fictional stories involving monsters that he couldn’t help but read through. Short stories are one of his weaknesses. 

When the clock strikes 3am, Minhyuk considers giving up. He’s most likely not going to find anything, he knows that, so he should cut his losses and go to bed. 

But he doesn’t. 

Instead, Minhyuk gets up from the position he’s been sat in for the past few hours and takes a quick walk around the house to stretch out his legs a bit. Sitting in the same position for so long always makes him stiff, and the quick walk helps to wear off some of his tiredness and give him some renewed determination for his quest for information. 

“Curse damn grandfather Lee,” Minhyuk jokes to himself when he settles back into the sofa to start his search back up again. It’s an old family joke that when something goes wrong they blame it on Minhyuk’s grandfather. It’s a long running story that he upset a witch early on in his life and she cursed him and all of his descendants. So, anything bad that goes wrong must be the curse of his grandfather, of course. 

Minhyuk shakes his head with a smile as he thinks back on the supposed family curse. It always manages to amuse him when he remembers it, because it’s truly an absurd story to have come up with. 

Minhyuk never met his grandfather, but he highly doubts that he was  _ truly _ cursed. If he was, it definitely hasn’t passed onto Minhyuk. No cursed person could end up dating the two most wonderful people in the world. 

Blog post after blog post after blog post. Minhyuk’s getting a bit sick of reading these, but he’s so desperate to find something,  _ anything _ that he doesn’t give up. 

Eventually, when it starts to near 4am, Minhyuk finally hits the jackpot. He finds a blog created by a person living in South Korea detailing their experience with a monster. Minhyuk finds it slightly amusing that the only information he’d come across about an  _ actual _ monster comes from his home country. 

He reads through every single post on the person’s blog - and there’s a lot of them. They cover a span of ten years in total, starting from the moment the monster first appeared until it was finally driven out of town to never be seen again. 

According to this person’s posts, they tried everything they could to capture the monster, harm it, kill it, but nothing worked. The monster evaded capture and it didn’t seem to be able to be harmed physically at all, so their only option was to finally drive the monster away. 

The blog posts end with the monster’s disappearance, so Minhyuk can only assume that it never returned. Did it go on to terrorise another town, though?

If the only option is for them to drive out the monster, that’s what they’ll have to do, but Minhyuk doesn’t want to cause anyone else the suffering and fear that their town has been facing. He wants the monster  _ destroyed _ so it can never harm another person again. 

His reading and research takes him so long, that Minhyuk doesn’t even realise that it’s morning and he’s been awake all night until he hears his name called behind him. 

* * *

Changkyun wakes up early feeling like something is wrong. When he checks his phone and sees it’s 5am, he sighs and debates whether it’s worth trying to go back to sleep. That’s when he notices Minhyuk isn’t in bed, which isn’t usual at all. 

Confused and slightly worried, Changkyun decides to go investigate. 

His investigation isn’t really much of an investigation, though, because he immediately finds Minhyuk in the living room, hunched over his laptop. 

“Minhyuk?” he calls, confused. 

Minhyuk looks over at him and it’s obvious that he hasn’t slept at all. His eyes are bloodshot and his eyebags are more pronounced than usual. To top it all off, Minhyuk yawns as soon as he sees Changkyun. “Morning, baby,” he greets. 

“Did you even sleep?” Changkyun asks even though the answer is obvious. 

“No,” Minhyuk says, “but I found something interesting.”

Changkyun doesn’t really know what could possibly be more important than sleep, especially when Minhyuk has to work today. They’re meant to be adults, not teenagers who get a kick out of staying up all night just to prove that they can. “What’s so important, then?” He can’t help but let the annoyance seep into his voice. 

“Come here,” Minhyuk says and pats the space next to him. 

Despite his annoyance, Changkyun sits down. Minhyuk kisses his cheek when he does and Changkyun feels himself melt slightly and his annoyance slip away ever so slightly. 

“Look at this.” Minhyuk angles his laptop screen so Changkyun can see it clearly. He appears to be on some sort of blog. 

“What’s this?”

“This person made a whole blog detailing their experiences with dealing with a monster,” Minhyuk says. He explains everything he found on there, from what the monster did to the people while it was in their town to how they finally drove it out, including the details of what they tried but didn’t work. 

Changkyun listens patiently, and while the information is interesting, he can’t say it was worth staying up all night for. Now Minhyuk’s going to be exhausted and probably in a bad mood all day. 

So, Changkyun says, “You should call in sick to work today. The information is useful, I guess, but it wasn’t worth staying up late for, and it’s not worth you going into work now.”

Minhyuk’s face falls and Changkyun tries not to feel bad. “I’m going into work. I’m not even that tired.” His body betrays him only moments later when he yawns widely. 

“Call in sick,” Changkyun insists. Part of him wants to tell Minhyuk to suck it up and deal with the consequences, but he worries about Minhyuk more than he wants to say that. It’s been a tough time for all of them recently, and Minhyuk’s clearly struggling enough for sleep as it is, so he should take the day off and finally try and catch up on it. 

But, of course, this is Minhyuk, and so that means his stubbornness loves to come out. “I’ll be fine. I don’t need to call in sick.”

“Stay home. Please,” Changkyun tries again. 

“Don’t worry about me,” Minhyuk says, like it’s that easy to not worry. 

Changkyun sighs and then leaves the room to start getting ready for work without so much as another word. He doesn’t have the energy in him to try and argue his point to Minhyuk when he knows he won’t listen. 

He’s annoyed because he loves Minhyuk and he worries about him and he hates when Minhyuk makes bad decisions, but he knows taking out that annoyance on Minhyuk is only going to push him further into his decision. 

He doesn’t want to fight with Minhyuk, not when there’s enough on all of their plates right now, and he knows that he’s extra irritable because he slept late because they stayed out to see the monster, and now he’s woken up earlier than he needed to. 

So, as he has the time to do so, Changkyun decides to take a bath to try and relax himself. 

He sits in there for as long as possible, the warm water against his skin relaxing him and some of the irritation leaving his body, up until the water goes cold. He still has time before he needs to leave for work, but he decides to get himself ready and leave a bit earlier to go on a walk for a bit to try and wake himself up. The fresh air will be good for him, anyway. 

Once he’s ready, Changkyun finds Kihyun in the kitchen preparing himself lunch. 

He gives Kihyun a kiss and says, “I’m heading off early. Love you.”

“Love you too. Min’s asleep in the living room, don’t wake him,” Kihyun says. 

“I thought he’s going to work?” Changkyun asks. Did Kihyun somehow manage to change his mind? That’d be amazing if he did, because it’s almost impossible to get Minhyuk to change his mind once he’s set on something. 

“Nope. He said he’s going in and then fell asleep, so I’m going to wait and see, but if he doesn’t wake up I’ll just call in for him.”

“Stubborn, isn’t he?” Changkyun jokes. 

“It’s part of his charm,” Kihyun says. 

And honestly, Changkyun’s not sure he can deny that, even if sometimes he does want to fight Minhyuk when his stubbornness comes out. 

* * *

When Minhyuk wakes up, there’s two missed calls from his boss and a few texts off him. The latest one reads:  _ Kihyun called in and let us know you’re unwell, so ignore my previous messages and calls. Get the rest you need and we’ll see you again tomorrow hopefully.  _

Minhyuk thanks whatever gods exist for blessing him with Kihyun, because he has no idea what would’ve happened if he hadn’t warned Minhyuk’s boss for him that Minhyuk wouldn’t be in, as it’s getting towards the time when he’d be finishing his shift anyway - Minhyuk managed to sleep for literally the whole day. 

He feels refreshed, though, much more so than he usually does. He was becoming so used to being constantly exhausted that it’s nice to not feel it for once. He’s probably fucked himself over for going to sleep tonight, though. 

Maybe it’ll be a good thing that he’s not going to be able to sleep tonight if they decide to try and stay out to do something about the monster again, but Minhyuk’s not entirely sure if that’s going ahead anymore. They haven’t really had an actual discussion about what comes next in terms of their ‘hunt’ (so to speak) and it’s likely that Kihyun and Changkyun will want a night off after actually coming face to face with the monster. 

Minhyuk stands up and stretches out the stiffness in his muscles, and as soon as he does so something falls to the floor. He leans down and picks it up and finds that it’s an obnoxiously bright pink post it note with Changkyun’s handwriting on. It says:  _ Love you, baby. Sorry for fighting this morning.  _ Followed by a bunch of love hearts. 

Minhyuk smiles when he sees it. Of course this is what Changkyun decided to do instead of just texting him or waiting to talk to him after he finished work. He’ll have to give Changkyun all of the kisses and hugs to make up for it when he gets home. 

As Minhyuk doesn’t have anything else to do, he decides he might as well prepare his boyfriends a cute date night in to surprise them. He quickly decides cooking won’t be a thing because he’s not the best cook and he’d rather they enjoy the meal, but he can easily order them food from one of the local restaurants and pick it up later so it’s still hot when they get home. 

Setting up and preparing the kitchen is the first thing for him to do, he decides, so he first hunts down a tablecloth to put over their kitchen table to make it look fancier. It isn’t actually too hard to find one, it turns out, as apparently they have an entire drawer full of tablecloths that Minhyuk honestly doesn’t remember ever owning. They’re all folded away neatly, though, so it must be Kihyun’s doing, and Minhyuk can only assume he was the one to buy them, too. 

He selects a silky white one against his better judgement, because chances are it’s going to end up stained, but they never use their tablecloths, anyway, so what does it matter if it does get stained? They might as well make use of it. 

He lays it over the table, then gets their fancy plates and cutlery out of the cupboards that they also save for special occasions. 

He puts two candles in the centre of the table, too, but doesn’t light them yet. If he did, they’d be burnt completely by the time Changkyun and Kihyun get home, so he’ll wait to light them for now. 

The next thing for him to get is the wine, but he knows where that is. He sets out three glasses for them, one at each spot, and then puts the bottle of wine in the centre to drink later. They usually don’t drink wine, but he feels like if anything’s going to be drunk for a special date, it should be wine. 

With the kitchen set up the way he wants, Minhyuk calls the local Korean restaurant to order some food for them. He decides on kimchi jjigae as the main dish as it feels like they haven’t eaten it in forever, and then orders a bunch of side dishes too. He’s going to make sure this is a proper feast for them. 

The restaurant happily accepts his order, which leaves Minhyuk about 40 minutes of waiting before he has to go and pick up their food. 

He realises that he’s still wearing the clothes he had on last night which is not a good look or really very hygienic at all, so he gets changed into some nicer clothes - a button up shirt and some ripped black skinny jeans. He doesn’t particularly want to be wearing jeans around the house, but this is a date, he’s decided, and he wants to look good. So, jeans it is, despite how uncomfortable they are. 

Minhyuk is tempted to go back on that blog he discovered last night and read through it again to see if there’s any details he missed that might be useful, but he knows he gets obsessive about these things and he knows he’ll end up reading through it for hours and forget all about going to collect their food. So, he resists. 

It leaves him without much to do, though, which means there’s really only one option. 

Minhyuk sets an alarm on his phone to make sure he definitely doesn’t miss the pickup time for their food, and then he connects his phone to their speakers and blasts some loud dance music. 

Then, he dances around his living room, because what better way to pass time and put himself in a good mood than an impromptu dance session?

* * *

Kihyun feels more frustrated than he thinks he ever has before. There’s something about this whole monster situation and the case from a few years back that is bothering him, but he just can’t quite place his finger on it. 

He doesn’t know  _ what _ exactly it is, or how to explain to anyone else why he’s so adamant that there’s something about it that feels like it should be a huge hint, but there’s  _ something.  _ That’s the only way he can put it. 

His shift has already ended, but he finds himself still sitting at his desk staring at the old case file as well as his own handwritten notes about the current case, reading over the information again and again, trying to make another link between them that’s not just they both are similar situations. There’s something  _ more,  _ but he just can’t place it. 

Kihyun wants to scream, to be honest. 

He knows that sitting here staring at these two case files when he could be at home with his boyfriends relaxing and enjoying his time isn’t good for him at all, but he feels like he’s so close to finally figuring it out - it’s right on the tip of his tongue, even - and he just wants to know what it is. 

The idea that there’s something more to the case that he just can’t quite place has been on his mind since the beginning, but it grows more and more every day. 

He feels like if he figures out what it is, then he can crack the case finally. It’ll bring them the information and knowledge they need to figure out how to stop this monster. 

Kihyun sighs and shuts the files. He’s not going to get anywhere today, he realises that, and his stomach is starting to grumble, so he might as well head home now. 

He says goodbyes to all of his coworkers left in the building and takes his leave. 

As he walks home, his mind still doesn’t leave the case. He can’t stop thinking about it. He thought after seeing the monster last night and feeling more terror than he’s ever experienced, he’d want to give up on the whole mission of saving their town from the monster, but instead he finds that it’s only made him more motivated. 

A shiver runs down his spine when he walks down the high street and past the spot where they saw the monster last night. Kihyun finds himself looking around to make sure it isn’t still here even though the sun still hasn’t set yet. 

He’s not sure he’ll ever be able to walk past this spot again without feeling that same fear coursing through his veins. 

When Kihyun finally reaches home, he’s hit with the smell of kimchi as soon as he opens the door. He follows the smell into the kitchen, where the lights are dimmed, there’s a multitude of different side dishes set out over the table with a candle in the centre, and three full wine glasses, one at each of their spots. 

Minhyuk and Changkyun are already sitting at the table, looking at him excitedly. 

“What’s this?” Kihyun asks as he takes a seat. He mentally goes through all the important dates to the three of them to try and figure out if somehow he completely forgot about something, but the only thing he can come up with that’s coming up soon is his birthday, but there’s still a few days until that yet. 

“Date night,” Minhyuk says and there’s a smile on his face. “It’s been a while since we’ve had one, and it’s been stressful recently with all this monster shit, so I thought it’s about time we sit down and enjoy ourselves for once.”

“Can we eat now?” Changkyun asks with the enthusiasm of a child in a toy shop. “I’m starving.”

“Come on, let’s eat,” Kihyun says. 

The three of them dig into the food. Kihyun makes sure to try at least a little of every dish first off because he knows how quickly and how much both Changkyun and Minhyuk can eat, and he doesn’t want to miss out on anything. 

They make light conversation as they eat, chatting about their days at work (or in Minhyuk’s case, about his day at home) and Kihyun feels all of the tension and stress from the day leave his body. Being around his boyfriends allows him to finally be able to relax and forget about the situation with the monster that’s been plaguing his mind as of recent. 

When their food is finally finished (and so is the bottle of wine) they decide to move into the living room to cuddle up together and chat some more. 

* * *

Minhyuk always feels the most at home when he’s as physically close to his boyfriends as he can possibly be. The whole idea of having a date night turns out to be one of his best decisions - he sees Kihyun finally relax and Changkyun is happy and upbeat, much different than how he was last night. 

Changkyun’s sitting in Kihyun’s lap, but his legs are resting on top of Minhyuk’s thighs. Kihyun’s got one arm protectively wrapped around Changkyun’s waist, and his other hand is playing with the hair at the nape of Minhyuk’s neck. 

Changkyun makes grabby hands towards Minhyuk, so Minhyuk lets Changkyun hold onto his hands like he wants to.

“I love you guys,” Minhyuk says. He can’t help but remind the two of them at every given opportunity about how much he loves them. The words just spill out of his mouth at any given moment, but it’s not a bad thing. He wants to make sure that Changkyun and Kihyun remember how much he loves them, even though he’s sure it’s impossible to forget, he reminds them anyway. 

“We love you,” Changkyun says. He’s playing with Minhyuk’s fingers like it’s the most fun thing in the world for him to be doing and Minhyuk finds himself smiling. 

Even though no one’s brought up the monster yet since they’ve all finished work, Minhyuk knows that it’s only a matter of time before the conversation comes up again. As much as he just wants to enjoy being with Changkyun and Kihyun, he finds that he just can’t get the monster off his mind. At every moment of the day, it’s always at the back of his mind. He really wishes he was able to stop thinking about it, but it’s such an absurd and scary situation that he can’t, and he’s sure it’s the same for Changkyun and Kihyun, too. 

But, Minhyuk’s going to put off the inevitable for as long as possible. He wants to enjoy this date night and sharing his time with his boyfriends without thinking about that situation for as long as he possibly can. 

“Oh, Kyunnie, by the way,” Minhyuk starts, “I’m sorry about this morning. I should’ve just listened to you.”

Changkyun leans forwards and plants a kiss on Minhyuk’s lips to let him know he’s forgiven. “You’re a stubborn little idiot, but a stubborn little idiot who I love.”

Minhyuk rolls his eyes, but he can’t argue with that. He tries to, anyway. “Kihyun’s stubborn, too.”

“Don’t try bring me into this,” Kihyun warns, but he’s smiling. “You’re more stubborn than I am.”

Minhyuk disagrees with that, but he knows Kihyun’s only trying to get a rise out of him, so he doesn’t give in. “Anyway, how was the food?”

“Amazing,” Kihyun says. “I missed kimchi jjigae so much.”

“You never cook it anymore,” Changkyun points out. He juts out his bottom lip. “I love your cooking. I wish you’d cook kimchi jjigae more.”

Minhyuk’s heart melts at how adorable Changkyun looks sitting there pouting, and he knows that Kihyun’s not going to be able to resist giving into what Changkyun wants, because Minhyuk wouldn’t be able to either. Changkyun has both of them wrapped around his little finger and he knows it and uses it to his advantage. 

“At the weekends I’ll try make it more often,” Kihyun concedes. “But only because you’re adorable.”

Changkyun smiles, making sure to show his dimples. “I always win.”

“Yeah, angel, you do,” Kihyun agrees, leaning forward to kiss Changkyun’s cheek, right on one of his dimples. Then, he says, “There’s still the elephant in the room we have to address.”

Changkyun looks around and says with a frown, “I don’t see an elephant.” Then, he grins, pleased with his own joke. 

Kihyun smacks Changkyun’s arm and Minhyuk can’t really blame him. That was a pretty awful joke. 

“You know what I mean,” Kihyun says. 

“The monster?” Minhyuk guesses, because what else would it be?

Kihyun nods. “What do we do now? I mean, Changkyun and I saw it last night, but we never had a plan for what to do after we confirmed its existence. So, ideas?”

“I mean, I found this whole blog about a monster. They just said they had to drive it out, though,” Minhyuk says. “I guess we just have to drive the monster out of Mulwich.”

“That won’t stop the problem completely, though,” Kihyun says. “We’ll just be shoving our problem onto another poor town.”

Minhyuk sighs. Kihyun’s right, he knows that, and he considered that issue himself, but really, what else is there to do? That town he read about dealt with the monster for  _ ten _ years, but no one ever helped them because no one believed them. Who would? Monsters aren’t supposed to actually exist. He really just wishes there was an easy fix.

Then, something comes back to Minhyuk that they didn’t really consider before. 

“It’s also a human, right?” Minhyuk says. 

Changkyun and Kihyun just stare at him. 

“Kihyun, you said the monster from 60 years ago or whenever it was was actually a human who changed into a monster.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Kihyun says slowly. “What does that matter, though?”

“Well, we’re desperately trying to find a monster, right? We’re focusing on the monster form of this person, but if this is the same situation as happened a few years back, then there’s also a human form,” Minhyuk explains, using many hand gestures as he does. “Maybe we’re focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of trying to capture the monster, maybe we should try and capture the human behind the monster.”

Understanding dawns over Kihyun’s face. “There’s probably signs that the human is the monster, so we can narrow it down. Anyone who’s been attacked or seen it is definitely out of the running.” A smile comes to Kihyun’s face. “You’re a genius, Minhyuk. We might actually figure it out.” 

Minhyuk’s chest swells with pride. “So, we use your detective skills to figure out who the human is, and then we can find a way to stop the monster.”

“How do you think someone even becomes a monster, anyway?” Changkyun asks, a thoughtful look on his face. “Is it like vampires or werewolves where you get bitten and become one? Or maybe it’s a curse that’s put on people.”

Minhyuk laughs. Of course this is what Changkyun’s decided to focus on. “We have an old family curse,” Minhyuk says. “My grandfather apparently got cursed because he pissed a witch off.”

Kihyun’s hand that had been gently stroking through Minhyuk’s hair goes completely still. “What did you say?”

“I told you about it before,” Minhyuk says. Why does Kihyun seem so freaked out about this? It’s just a ridiculous story that has been passed through his family. It probably started as a way to scare the kids of the Lee family into behaving. “It’s just a joke,” Minhyuk adds, nervous about the way Kihyun’s suddenly acting. 

“What’s your grandfather’s name?”

“Lee Chanwook. Why?”

Kihyun’s face pales and it looks like he’s going to be sick. He’s quiet for a moment, then says, “The name of the man 60 years ago who became a monster to escape after he was arrested for killing all those people. His name was Chanwook Lee.”

Minhyuk feels dizzy as he tries to process the information. His grandfather was the monster who killed seven people in their town? How did he not know about this? This must be why he never met his grandfather, because no one knows where he is.

Kihyun isn’t finished speaking, though, and Minhyuk unfortunately realises what he’s going to say only seconds before it leaves his mouth. 

“Minhyuk,” Kihyun says, turning to look at Minhyuk with wide, terrified eyes, “I think the monster is you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if the reveal was obvious so id love to know if anyone guessed it hehe
> 
> also a quick explanation abt minhyuk's grandfather's name in this: i did a lot of research abt korean family naming schemes and i know that there's generational names, but i opted to just go for a fake name for his grandfather. also, kihyun says it as chanwook lee as opposed to lee chanwook bc that's the way he's reading it via the report as this is obviously set in england where we do forename surname, but ofc minhyuk refers to it as surname forename as it's his own family and he's korean. while kihyun also clearly could do surname forename, he's sticking to what the report says. don't know if anyone noticed at all but i did want to explain it as obviously i made a conscious choice to do forename surname bc of the setting


	4. Chapter 4

Kihyun has to be wrong. He  _ must _ be. Minhyuk isn’t a monster, that’s just not possible. He’d  _ know _ if the monster was him. 

But, would he? 

Minhyuk stares at Kihyun and says, “You’re wrong.”

Despite the harsh choice of words, Kihyun doesn’t seem phased. He probably expected this reaction from Minhyuk.

“Min, think about it, please. Just think about it.”

So, Minhyuk does. Although all he wants to do is deny it and fight against Kihyun’s words, ask him why he’d be telling Minhyuk something like this, there was something in Kihyun’s voice that made him listen. He was practically begging Minhyuk, and Kihyun doesn’t do that. If someone won’t listen even though he’s made his point, he won’t even bother trying to explain it to them. He doesn’t think it’s worth it. 

Yet, here Kihyun is, begging Minhyuk to listen to him and think about his words. 

Minhyuk doesn’t want to think about it, because deep down he knows the truth. The constant exhaustion like he hasn’t slept a wink despite being convinced that he slept through the night, the jokes from his family about being careful when he turned 25 - the age he turned only a few weeks ago, the same time the monster appeared. And then there’s the strange, vague flashes of memories? Feelings? It’s hard to describe what they are, but whatever they are they’re filled with anger and fury and wrath and they always felt like they came from a different part of him, a part of him that didn’t feel entirely human. 

Even with all of the facts he has, Minhyuk still doesn’t want to believe it. He doesn’t want to believe that he’s the one who’s been hurting all those innocent people. 

“I can’t—” Minhyuk says. He can’t manage to say another word, but Changkyun and Kihyun understand. 

“We’ll get through this,” Changkyun reassures. “If it’s true then we’ll find a cure or something. This isn’t you, Minhyuk. You’re not a monster.”

“He’s right, angel. You’re the most wonderful, amazing person out there, and we love you so much. Even if it’s you, it doesn’t define you,” Kihyun adds. 

Minhyuk notices the way they both say ‘if’. 

If, as if they don’t already know the truth. 

If, as if they’re going to find another explanation, a different monster. 

_ If.  _

Minhyuk feels sick. 

“I’m going to bed,” he says. He tries to stand, but Kihyun grabs his wrist and doesn’t let him go. 

“Please,” he whispers, looking deep into Minhyuk’s eyes. “Stay.”

Minhyuk turns his head away, pulls his wrist from Kihyun’s grip and he leaves. 

“We love you. We always will,” Changkyun calls out behind him. 

Minhyuk doesn’t reply. He goes upstairs and walks past their bedroom door and into the guest room beside it. He needs to be on his own right now, to sleep alone tonight (if he gets any sleep, that is) and he can’t have that if he goes into their shared bedroom. 

He locks the door behind him, and it feels like he’s locking his boyfriends out. 

Maybe he is. Maybe he should. Maybe they’re better off without him - without a  _ monster. _

Minhyuk drops to the floor, buries his head into his arms folded over his knees, and he sobs. They come from deep inside of him, the type of crying that physically  _ hurts,  _ like all the emotional pain he’s feeling is being channeled into another type of pain. 

He’s sure Changkyun and Kihyun can hear him, and he’s sure they’re desperate to come and check on him, but if they do, he has to ignore them. 

Right now, Minhyuk  _ needs _ to be alone. 

He slumps even further down to the floor when he finally manages to stop the sobs from escaping his body. He’s still crying, but now it’s tears falling down his face instead of the full body sobs from before. 

He tries to think of anything  _ except _ their new discovery, but he just can’t get his mind off it. He can’t stop thinking about how he’s the monster - because that’s just it. He can deny it all he wants, he can tell himself that’s not him, but it is. All he needed was for Kihyun to say it out loud, to confirm it, and now he can’t deny it. 

He can’t control it, either. If he could, none of this would have ever happened, but does that even really matter? 

Minhyuk is caring, loving, and only wants the best for people. 

And the monster? The monster is simply the embodiment of anger. 

Minhyuk can try and separate himself from the monster, claim they’re different, but the fact of the matter is they’re one and the same, aren’t they? They’re part of the same body, the same mind, and therefore there is no ‘Minhyuk  _ and _ the monster’, only ‘Minhyuk the monster’. 

He wishes he could call his family, ask them more about this curse they all claimed was simply a joke but is turning out to be true, ask how he can cure it so he can regain his humanity, but he left his phone downstairs and he doesn’t want to leave this room right now. He doesn’t want to risk seeing Changkyun and Kihyun and seeing the pity and love and care on their faces, because he doesn’t deserve it. He doesn’t deserve any of that, not when he’s a  _ monster.  _

And anyway, what does a cure matter now? The damage has already been done. He’s hurt people -  _ friends,  _ even - and that’s not going to be changed by removing that other side of himself. 

What if it’s just a part of him, anyway? What if, even though he can be as caring and loving and kind as he wants, it’s in his nature to be a monster? There’s always a chance that this form he’s taken just reflects who he is inside. 

Changkyun and Kihyun don’t deserve this. They don’t deserve to be with someone like Minhyuk. He doesn’t want to leave them, that’s the very last thing he wants because he loves them  _ so _ much, but maybe they’re better off without him. 

And god, it’s Kihyun’s birthday in a few days. Their trip away to that cute, isolated cabin Minhyuk found is _ tomorrow _ . 

Everything is just going so, so wrong, and Minhyuk has no idea how to fix it. 

* * *

The warm water splashes against the sides of the bath as Kihyun lowers himself in. The warm water against his skin feels nice, but it’s not so nice when he settles back against the bath, shuts his eyes and then is splashed in the face. 

Kihyun opens his eyes and glares at a grinning Changkyun opposite him. “You suck. You know that, right?”

Changkyun nods enthusiastically, like Kihyun’s just paid him the highest of compliments. “Yes. I love sucking. Sucking is the best.”

“I will get up and leave you in here and jam the door from the outside so you’re trapped in the bathroom forever, alone and naked,” Kihyun threatens. 

“You love me really.”

Kihyun sighs, but he doesn’t bother to deny it. He can’t - it’s the truth. He also knows that Changkyun’s only trying to distract him and cheer him up after what happened with Minhyuk. 

They’d left him alone for a while, ignored the painful sounding sobs coming from upstairs, and only when Minhyuk seemed to calm down had they ventured up together, hoping that he’d finally want to talk to them. 

But Minhyuk had either been asleep or ignoring them, so the door to the guest bedroom was never unlocked and now here Kihyun and Changkyun are, unaware of the state their boyfriend is currently in, trying their best to relax themselves. 

Even with the scent of lavender filling the air (courtesy of Changkyun’s bath bomb he’d insisted on adding), Kihyun doesn’t find himself relaxed in the slightest. He feels the opposite of relaxed, in fact. All of his muscles feel stiff and taut and full of tension. 

“C’mere,” Changkyun says, his arms open wide and inviting. 

Kihyun spins around and then leans back against Changkyun, sitting between his legs. “I’m so worried about Min,” he says, because he just can’t get it off his mind. 

“I am too,” Changkyun says. He gently runs his fingers up and down Kihyun’s arms, comforting him. “I think he’ll be okay, though. He’s strong.”

“I know, but this is hard to deal with. You know what he’s like - he puts up a confident front and acts like he’s all tough, but he’s more insecure than he lets on, even if he is strong.”

“We’re good at reassurance,” Changkyun says. “We’ll get through this. All of us.”

“I just hate thinking about how he’s probably so upset and we can’t do anything to comfort him. He won’t let us. All I want is to see him - to see both of you - happy.”

“Things’ll work out. They always do.”

“Will they?” Kihyun asks, letting the doubt seep into his voice. “We still need to stop the monster, but how are we meant to do that now? It’s  _ Minhyuk _ .”

“We’ll figure it out somehow,” Changkyun promises. He sounds so sure that Kihyun can’t help but believe him. 

Kihyun hums and leans back further into Changkyun, letting the back of his head rest against Changkyun’s chest. 

Changkyun kisses the top of Kihyun’s head and then rests his chin gently on his head. “Can I tell you a secret?” As he speaks, Kihyun feels the movement of his jaw against his head. 

“What is it?”

“We’re going away tomorrow for your birthday, to a cabin somewhere in the countryside up north. Minhyuk booked it and arranged it, but I obviously found out because I do the finances,” Changkyun says. “I’m telling you because I think it’d be good for all of us, especially Minhyuk, to get away for a few days, but I think he’s going to try and play it off and pretend he never booked it because of everything that’s going on.”

A smile blooms over Kihyun’s face. He hadn’t even stopped to think about his birthday or what he might be getting. It had been the last thing on his mind, in fact, with everything going on recently, and it warms his heart that Minhyuk planned something out for him as a surprise and both he and Changkyun managed to keep it quiet for so long. 

“I think it’ll be nice,” Kihyun says. “Getting out of Mulwich for a bit will be good for all of us, but especially Minhyuk. Maybe then we can figure out what to do about this whole thing.” Kihyun pauses, realising something. “Wait. Tomorrow’s Friday. How are we going tomorrow?”

“Minhyuk got the day booked off for you, don’t worry.”

“Poor Hyunwoo, having to do everything alone. At least he won’t be having any new attacks to deal with, I guess,” Kihyun says. 

Changkyun hums and the sound vibrates through Kihyun’s body. He reaches down and grabs one of Kihyun’s hands and squeezes it between his own. “It’ll work out, won’t it? Minhyuk will be okay?”

Changkyun had been the one to reassure Kihyun earlier, but the worry has snuck into his voice now. 

And Kihyun wishes that he could promise Changkyun that it will be. He wishes he could say that no matter what, everything will be fine and work out for them, but he can’t, because he doesn’t know if it will work out. He wants to hold onto the hope that it will, that they’ll find a way to cure Minhyuk, or a way for him to control it - whatever it takes - but this is a situation that’s new to all of them, one which isn’t going to be easy to get through for any of them, but especially Minhyuk. 

So, Kihyun says, “I really hope so,” because hope is all they have at this point. 

* * *

The morning comes and Minhyuk can’t bring himself to unlock the guest room door. He knows he needs to - today they’re meant to drive up north to the little cabin that Minhyuk had found to celebrate Kihyun’s birthday - but knowing that he needs to and wanting to are two different things. 

Maybe Minhyuk can just lock himself in here forever. Changkyun and Kihyun would probably be sad, but he’d hope that they’d eventually realise that it’s for the best and move on without him. 

He’s getting ahead of himself though. He  _ has _ to go and talk to his boyfriends. It was hard enough trying to sleep alone last night without them. After years of sharing a bed with them, he’s forgotten how to sleep alone. 

But, he still can’t bring himself to open the door. 

So, he takes it step by step. 

Walk to the door - check. Touch the lock - check. Turn the lock - check. Pull down the handle and open the door - check. 

Step out of the door and go and find his boyfriends—

Minhyuk takes a deep breath, but he can’t bring himself to take the step. He just can’t. 

It turns out, he doesn’t need to. Changkyun and Kihyun must’ve heard him unlock the door, as they both come bounding up to him, pulling him into their arms and burying their faces into his chest. 

Minhyuk hugs them back, but it’s weak. 

They end up sitting down on the bed in the guest room because it’s the closest seat there is. 

A silence falls over the room. Minhyuk knows he should apologise for last night, apologise for  _ everything, _ but he can’t find the words to say. He doesn’t know how to proceed from here. He’s a danger to Changkyun and Kihyun and they must know that by now. 

“Minhyuk?” Kihyun says carefully. He rests his hand gently on Minhyuk’s thigh, as if he’s afraid to touch him. 

When Minhyuk doesn’t react poorly, Kihyun pushes down slightly, putting pressure on Minhyuk’s thigh. 

“Changkyun told me about the surprise. Thank you for thinking of me and getting me such a lovely gift. I can’t wait to go.”

“I can’t come,” Minhyuk says, his throat raw and scratchy from spending so long crying and not rehydrating himself. “It’s not safe.”

Even though Minhyuk keeps his gaze steadily focused on his hands in his lap, he knows that Changkyun and Kihyun have just glanced at each other worriedly. He knows them so well, that he can predict their actions now, and it makes him want to both laugh and cry. 

“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” Changkyun asks. He’s got his hand resting on the small of Minhyuk’s back, rubbing small circles into his skin. 

“Because I’m a monster.”

The silence that follows feels deafening. It stretches and lasts for a moment too long before Changkyun speaks up again. 

“You’re not a monster. You’re the most wonderful human being ever,  _ not _ a monster.”

Minhyuk shakes his head. “No. I’m a monster. That’s just how it is.”

“You’re not a monster,” Changkyun insists. “You’re not.”

But, his words fall on deaf ears, for Minhyuk isn’t going to believe him - he can’t. He knows the truth, knows who he really is inside, and Changkyun and Kihyun might say otherwise, but he isn’t able to believe them, even if he wants to. 

“I can’t come. I can’t,” Minhyuk says again. “I can’t put you both at risk like that. If we go, it’ll only be the three of us. There’s nothing around for miles - that’s why I picked this place. And you know I can’t control what I do when I’m the monster, so I could hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you.” By the end of it, tears are streaming down his face. 

Kihyun gently cups Minhyuk’s cheeks and turns his face to look at him. He looks heartbroken, but he attempts a smile anyway as he wipes the tears from Minhyuk’s cheeks with his thumbs. “You won’t hurt us. I trust you. Changkyun trusts you. We’re safe with you, I know we are.”

“I’m so scared,” Minhyuk admits in a whisper. 

“You’ll be okay. We’ll be okay,” Changkyun promises. “Come with us. It’ll be a nice break for all of us away from here. We deserve some happiness, eh?”

Minhyuk takes a deep breath and then nods. He’s completely and utterly terrified, and he feels like going on this trip is a mistake, but if Changkyun and Kihyun trust him that much, then he’ll just have to try and believe in himself too. 

This weekend is for Kihyun, he reminds himself. He shouldn’t be making it all about him and his struggles. He should be trying to make this a happy weekend for Kihyun. 

Minhyuk swallows, blinks away the remaining tears and nods again. “Okay. Yeah. I can do this. We can do this.” He gives his best attempt at a smile, which both Kihyun and Changkyun return. 

“We should probably head out now,” Changkyun says. “We don’t want to get there too late.”

“But I haven’t packed,” Minhyuk says. He hadn’t even thought about packing, to be honest. It had been the last thing on his mind. He’s always a last minute packer, putting it off until he can’t put it off any longer, but this time he’s really gone the extra mile. 

Changkyun smiles like there’s a secret he hasn’t shared. 

“Oh, you cheeky little shit,” Kihyun says, shaking his head. 

Changkyun grins wider. 

Minhyuk looks between them, confused, but a smile is beginning to grow on his face. “What is it? Tell me.”

“Why do you think I told Kihyun last night instead of waiting until this morning?” Changkyun asks, all smiles and cheekiness. “He can’t leave packing until the last minute, so he did it last night when we got out of the bath.”

Minhyuk laughs and shakes his head. He wants to say he’s surprised, but he’s really not. Changkyun always has an ulterior motive, and getting both Kihyun and Minhyuk to do his bidding without them even realising they’re doing it is a common one. 

“You’re driving us there for making me pack,” Kihyun says, but they all know he’ll be the one to drive. He doesn’t really trust Minhyuk or Changkyun behind the wheel. 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Changkyun asks. “Let’s get going.”

* * *

The drive to the cabin Minhyuk had booked takes a few hours. It took a bit longer than planned because neither Changkyun nor Minhyuk’s directional skills are very good, so they kept sending Kihyun the wrong way and getting lost, but they made it eventually. 

Now that they’re here, Changkyun finds himself smiling at the small cabin. It’s surrounded by flowers and plants of all different kinds - a rainbow of foliage outside of it. There are endless fields in every direction, so they can be assured that they probably won’t see anyone around while they’re here. While this was Minhyuk’s original intention when he booked the place, whether that’s a good thing with the extra knowledge they have now isn’t certain. 

Minhyuk retrieves the keys from under a flower pot out front where the owners had placed them in preparation for their arrival. “You ready?” he asks. While his mood had seemed to improve a little bit over the course of the drive, there’s sadness in his eyes still. But, Changkyun can tell he’s trying not to show it.

“Let’s go have a look around,” Changkyun says with a smile. 

They enter and Changkyun is shocked by how modern it looks on the inside compared to the outside. As they walk around, he notes the colour scheme of the entire cabin appears to be monochrome, but with splashes of colour here and there. 

In the kitchen is every machine and utensil you could possibly need, and in the living room is a huge flat screen TV and plush, comfy looking sofas. 

When they make their way upstairs, the master bedroom has a king sized bed, which is good because while the three of them have managed to squeeze into a double bed before, a king is much more comfortable. 

As soon as they finish exploring the place, Minhyuk and Changkyun take a seat on one of the sofas while Kihyun disappears into the kitchen to make them some cups of tea. 

“I love this place,” Changkyun says. “You picked it well.”

Minhyuk manages a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I thought it seemed perfect on the listing. I’m glad it lives up to expectations.”

Changkyun hates seeing the way Minhyuk is hurting, because even if he tries to hide it, Minhyuk is just one of those people who always shows their emotions on their face. So, he leans over and tucks himself up at Minhyuk’s side and whispers, “I love you. I know this is technically for Kihyun’s birthday, but I know you did it for me, too. So, thank you.”

Minhyuk kisses the top of Changkyun’s head as a reply. 

Kihyun joins them a few minutes later, bringing the three mugs in with him. He sets them all down on the coffee table, and then takes a seat beside Changkyun. 

“Thank you for such a thoughtful gift, Min,” he says. “I know this is going to be the best birthday ever.”

Changkyun can’t see Minhyuk’s face as he’s leaning against him, but he can see Kihyun’s, and whatever Minhyuk’s non-verbal reaction to that happens to be, it makes Kihyun’s face fall ever so slightly. It’s a subtle change, one you can only notice if you know to look for it, and Changkyun does know to look for it. 

Minhyuk shifts slightly and says, “Hey, Kyunnie, I love you, but I might go upstairs and rest for a bit. Leave you two to it.”

Changkyun clings on tight. “Don’t go.”

Minhyuk tries to move again, but Changkyun doesn’t let him. 

He knows Minhyuk is feeling like he’s ruining things and wants to remove himself from the equation because he’s convinced himself that if he’s out of here, somehow Changkyun and Kihyun will have a good time. Changkyun knows this because that’s how Minhyuk always feels and what he always tries to do whenever he’s feeling down. What Minhyuk doesn’t seem to realise is that neither Changkyun nor Kihyun want him to leave, because they don’t have a better time without him. All they do is end up worrying themselves sick about if he’s going to be okay or not. 

And so Changkyun clings onto Minhyuk and refuses to let him go. “Stay, baby.  _ Please.” _

There’s a sigh, and then Minhyuk settles back into the sofa. 

Changkyun takes it as a win. 

“Drink your tea,” Kihyun says to the two of them. “It’s gonna get cold otherwise.”

Changkyun and Minhyuk do as he says and both grab their mugs of tea and sip at them slowly. 

“You know, this tea is rather _tea_ -lightful,” Changkyun says, smirking into his mug. 

Kihyun groans like he’s in pain and Minhyuk manages a small chuckle, which is exactly what Changkyun had been hoping for. His terrible jokes always manage to make Minhyuk smile and that’s what he’d been hoping to achieve again this time. All he wants is to make Minhyuk smile and laugh again, and if he has to make bad jokes, then so be it. 

Kihyun’s annoyance at all the puns Changkyun comes up with is always a bonus, too. 

“Kihyun,” Changkyun starts, a smile already on his face, and Kihyun looks at him, exasperated, “what are we going to have for dinner?”

“What bad joke is it going to be this time?”

“No, please. Pick something. It’s funny I promise.”

Kihyun doesn’t look like he believes that for a second (and he shouldn’t), but he plays along anyway. “I’m craving chicken right now. Why?”

Changkyun grins. “I think we should have spaghe- _ tea  _ bolognese.”

Kihyun doesn’t even attempt to hide his exasperation. 

Minhyuk laughs again, quietly, and Changkyun turns to look at him. “You’re very beau- _ tea _ -ful, you know.”

Minhyuk shakes his head, smiling. “Your puns get worse and worse as time goes on.”

“You love them, though. Admit it.”

“They’re so bad they’re good, I’ll give you that.”

“I personally hate the puns and think they should stop,” Kihyun complains, but it’s obvious he’s not actually serious. He just loves to pretend he’s more annoyed by everything Changkyun and Minhyuk do than he actually is. 

“My puns are quali- _ tea.  _ You’re just a spoilsport.”

Kihyun groans. “You’re the absolute worst, you know that?”

Changkyun grins. “That’s the aim.”

* * *

“I really wanna explore and see what’s around here,” Kihyun says, lacing up his shoes. “You both coming?”

Changkyun nods enthusiastically. “Hell yeah. I wanna see if we can find a wolf in the wild.”

Kihyun stares at Changkyun with an eyebrow raised. “You do know wolves don’t live here, don’t you?”

Changkyun frowns. “They don’t? What the fuck. We need to move where they do have wolves then. This country sucks.”

“Did you think driving a few hours up north would magically mean we could see wolves?” Kihyun asks, clearly confused. 

Changkyun pouts. “I don’t know. Now I don’t wanna come with you. It seems boring.”

Kihyun kisses his pout away and says, “Stop being a baby.” Then, he turns to Minhyuk who’s remained quiet throughout the exchange and asks, “You coming, angel?”

While at any other time Minhyuk would never turn down spending more time with Changkyun and Kihyun, he’s too stuck in his own head right now to want to go on the walk with them. So, he says, “Sorry, I kinda want to stay here and rest.”

Kihyun opens his mouth and Minhyuk knows he’s about to offer to stay behind for Minhyuk’s sake, so he cuts him off before he can. 

“You two go ahead. I’ll be fine here on my own.”

Kihyun doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”

“You’ll only be gone what, an hour or two? I’ll survive that long on my own.” Minhyuk puts a smile on his face and waves them both away. “Go on. Go have a fun walk. I’ll just nap for a bit.”

Changkyun and Kihyun both kiss him goodbye, despite their clear reluctance to leave him on his own, and Minhyuk keeps the smile on his face until they’re out the door. 

Once they’re gone, he lets it drop and then heads into the living room to lie down on the sofa for a bit. He could go upstairs to the bed, but this is closer and less effort. 

Then, Minhyuk lets himself cry. He lets all the pent up emotions and guilt and fear out now that he’s alone again. 

Minhyuk can’t even explain exactly why he’s crying. It’s probably just how overwhelmed he is with this entire situation and having to try and pretend he’s not struggling as much as he is because he doesn’t want to be a burden on Changkyun and Kihyun. 

Things just aren’t going well for Minhyuk right now. He has no clue at all how to cope with the discovery that he’s the monster. 

Part of him still refuses to believe it, hoping that while they’re away from home the monster will come out again back home and then Minhyuk will know it isn’t him. 

But deep down he knows that’ll never happen. 

When he thinks back to the night when Changkyun and Kihyun saw the monster - when they saw  _ him _ \- he remembers how they both said that the monster— No,  _ he _ looked right at them and then left them alone. 

Minhyuk has no control over the monster side of himself - if he did none of this would’ve ever happened - but he believes that he could never hurt Changkyun and Kihyun. Never. 

He’s still terrified that he  _ will _ hurt them, because he doesn’t have any control over himself and anything could go wrong, but the fact that the two of them were left alone when no one else was gives Minhyuk a little bit of hope. 

But is it enough hope?

That was in Mulwich, where there are others around that his monster side could easily go for instead of Changkyun and Kihyun, but here?

Here there’s only the three of them, and he fears for their safety. The last thing he ever wants is for Changkyun and Kihyun to get hurt, and  _ especially _ for him to be the one who hurts them. 

Maybe the best thing would be for Minhyuk to leave and go home and let Changkyun and Kihyun enjoy themselves here without the risk of Minhyuk hurting them. 

He knows they convinced him to come already and insisted that they trust him and feel safe with him, but Minhyuk doesn’t trust himself. He thought maybe once they’d arrived he’d feel better and change his mind and be able to enjoy himself, but somehow his anxiety and fears have only increased. 

He could drive home if he wanted and come back at the end of the weekend to pick Changkyun and Kihyun up. That would mean missing Kihyun’s actual birthday, though, which he doesn’t want to do, but maybe it’d be for the best. 

Surely Kihyun won’t be able to enjoy his birthday anyway with Minhyuk here putting a downer on everyone’s moods. 

The main thing that Minhyuk’s realised is that sleeping is the trigger for his transformation. When he’s awake, the monster doesn’t seem to appear. It’s only when he’s asleep that it’s able to take over. 

If he could, Minhyuk would stay up the two nights they’re here to minimise the risk completely of Changkyun and Kihyun getting hurt, but he knows that not only will he struggle to do that, it’ll put him in a terrible mood and ruin the weekend. 

But wait. Maybe there’s another option. Minhyuk can drive back home today and get the sleep he needs back in Mulwich, and then drive back up here on the Sunday morning so that he can spend the day with Kihyun on his actual birthday, but there’s no risk of either of his boyfriends getting hurt. 

It puts the people of Mulwich - his  _ friends _ \- at risk again, but if they stick to a curfew, things seem to work out. 

Minhyuk nods to himself, pleased with the idea he’s come up with. He’ll tell Changkyun and Kihyun when they get back that he’s going to return home but come back up for Kihyun’s birthday and hopefully they’ll understand. 

Now, the only thing he has to do is keep himself awake until his boyfriends get back, because sleep isn’t worth it when it comes with such a risk. 

* * *

Minhyuk jerks awake when he hears the sound of the door opening and Changkyun and Kihyun’s cheery voices echo through the cabin. 

Shit, he wasn’t meant to fall asleep, but since he can hear both of his boyfriends’ voices, he at least knows they’re safe. 

When they find him in the living room, they’re all smiles and happiness and Minhyuk feels guilt eat into his heart when he realises that he’s going to ruin their happiness with his decision. 

But, in the long run, they’ll be happier and safer, even if they don’t think so right now. 

Before Minhyuk can tell them about his plan, Changkyun starts excitedly telling him about their walk and Minhyuk doesn’t have the heart to interrupt him. 

“We found the prettiest flowers on the walk,” Changkyun says, happiness written all over his face. “There were all sorts of colours but I loved the purple ones the most. I wanted to bring some home but Kihyun wouldn’t let me.” He pouts at Kihyun. 

“They could’ve been poisonous,” Kihyun says and it’s clear in his voice that this isn’t the first time he’s said this to Changkyun today. 

“But they were pretty like Minhyuk and I wanted to give him some,” Changkyun complains. 

Minhyuk manages a smile. “You can show me them at some point.”

This makes Changkyun bounce in his seat with excitement. “Really? You’ll go on a walk with me so I can show you?”

“We can do a birthday walk for Kihyun,” Minhyuk suggests. He carefully avoids mentioning that he’s not going to be here for much longer nor will he be here tomorrow. He’s going to let Changkyun get all his excitement out first before Minhyuk ruins it. 

“That would be wonderful,” Kihyun says. He puts his hand on Minhyuk’s thigh and squeezes it - his way of saying thanks. 

“Did you see anything else?” Minhyuk asks. He knows he’s delaying the inevitable, but while he’d prepared himself for the conversation they’re going to have before Changkyun and Kihyun returned, the reality of it is far more daunting. So, he’s going to put it off a little longer. He only needs to be home by dark, so he can allow himself a little longer of seeing his boyfriends happy. 

“We saw a herd of deer,” Kihyun says. “We couldn’t get close because we didn’t want to scare them away, but it was amazing to see it.”

“I wish I could’ve been them, too,” Minhyuk says and he means it. He feels some regret start to prod at his heart. Maybe he’s making a mistake by abandoning his boyfriends. 

No. He’s already set his mind to this. He can’t let his selfishness of wanting to be around them always get in the way. Leaving is what’s best for them - it’s the only way he can guarantee they’ll be safe. 

Minhyuk realises that there’s no point in wasting more time. 

So, he takes a deep breath and then says, “I’m leaving.”

Changkyun and Kihyun stare at him in a silence that stretches on for far too long - long enough that Minhyuk starts to wonder if he’d actually spoken. 

Changkyun is the one who finally breaks the silence. “You’re leaving us?” His voice is strained and his eyes are shining with tears. 

Minhyuk realises instantly that Changkyun’s misunderstood. “No. God, no. Never,” Minhyuk promises. “I meant, like, today. I’m going to go home and come back on Sunday.”

Changkyun breathes out a shaky breath. “You’re not breaking up with us?”

Minhyuk hadn’t even really thought about it. Why would he think about breaking up with the two people he loves most in the world? But now that Changkyun’s mentioned it, he can’t help but wonder if maybe it would be better for them. If he wasn’t around at all, they’d be safe. 

But Minhyuk is selfish, and he doesn’t want to lose the most important things in his life over something he can’t control. 

“I’d never break up with you. Ever. Not out of my own choice, anyway,” Minhyuk says assuredly. Then, more nervously, he adds, “If either of you thought it would be safer without me, though, I’d respect that.”

“No, never,” Changkyun says. 

“We don’t want that. Not at all,” Kihyun agrees. 

Minhyuk feels himself sag slightly in relief. He’d been hoping to hear that, but he’d still felt like he had to offer anyway. 

“Now, back to what else you said,” Kihyun says. “You’re not leaving. You don’t need to.”

“But I don’t think you’re safe with me here,” Minhyuk says. “At least not at night, and I don’t think I can just not sleep.”

“You won’t hurt us. We saw you that night, remember? You looked at us and you left.” Kihyun grabs Minhyuk’s hand. “Some part of you recognised us and you left us alone. We’re safe with you.”

Minhyuk laughs sarcastically. “You can’t guarantee that and I don’t remember it. Anything could’ve happened to make me turn away from you - you don’t know that it’s because I recognised you.” He pauses, licks his lips. “I’m a monster. You’re not safe with me.”

“We’re safe with you,” Changkyun says and he sounds so sure of himself that Minhyuk almost believes him. “And you’re not a monster.”

Minhyuk stares at him blankly. “I am. We already figured this out.”

“No,” Changkyun says, insistent. “You’re not a monster. You’re a human struggling with something you can’t control.”

“We both know how stubborn you are, Min,” Kihyun says carefully, “but just this once, please listen to us. Nothing bad will happen to us. Every attack back in Mulwich happened outside in the dark. You never attacked us in our home. So, if we stay inside, we’re safe, right?”

And Minhyuk hates how much sense it makes, because now he’s starting to believe it, and he doesn’t want to believe it, because that will put Changkyun and Kihyun at risk. 

But, they’re so insistent that they feel safe around him, and Minhyuk knows them both well enough that he’d know if they were just saying it to make him feel better. If they had any doubts, he’d know about it - and they don’t. 

“You’ll stay, right?” Kihyun asks, his voice filled with hope. 

And Minhyuk, despite knowing that it’s probably a mistake and he might be putting Changkyun and Kihyun at risk, finds himself nodding automatically. 

* * *

When Changkyun wakes up the next morning, he feels relieved to see Minhyuk still asleep in bed beside him. He’d been slightly afraid that Minhyuk would decide to disappear in the night, so he’s glad to see that his fears haven’t come true. 

Minhyuk’s fears haven’t come true, either, as both Changkyun and Kihyun are completely unharmed. 

Even though it’s Kihyun’s birthday weekend, Changkyun wants to do something to make Minhyuk feel better, because it hurts him to see how badly Minhyuk’s struggling with something that isn’t his fault and he can’t control. 

While it seems like Changkyun and Kihyun’s words aren’t providing much comfort to him, Changkyun does know the one thing that Minhyuk absolutely loves - breakfast in bed. 

So, Changkyun gently shakes Kihyun awake and leads him out into the kitchen where they can talk freely without waking Minhyuk up. 

Kihyun yawns then asks, “Why’d you wake me?”

“I thought we could do something nice for Minhyuk and cook him breakfast in bed. I’m a terrible cook, though, as we know, so I thought I’d get your help,” Changkyun says sheepishly. “You can go back to bed, though. I don’t mind doing it.”

“I’m not sure I should trust you alone in the kitchen,” Kihyun jokes. “You might burn it down.”

Changkyun rolls his eyes. “Of course I would,” he says sarcastically. 

“What are we making, then?” Kihyun asks, already looking through the cupboards to figure out where everything is. 

Changkyun happens to glance at the clock and sees that it’s actually 10:30am already. They really managed to sleep in late. “It’s basically brunch rather than breakfast. I’m really craving sundubu jjigae, though.”

“I think we have the ingredients, so I can make that for us,” Kihyun says. He pulls out a saucepan from one of the cupboards as well as a chopping board. “Can you start cutting things up for me, please?”

Changkyun nods and gets to work. He’s pretty sure they don’t have all the ingredients that they usually use, but they can make do with what they managed to buy at the shop before they arrived yesterday. 

He finds a pack of mixed mushrooms as well as an onion in the fridge, so grabs those. While he gets to work on slicing the mushrooms and dicing the onion, Kihyun starts to prepare the stock base for the meal. 

The two of them work quickly in silence. Kihyun doesn’t like to be interrupted when he’s cooking, and Changkyun finds that he enjoys the quiet when he cooks. It gives him time to have a break from the world and just be left alone with his thoughts for a while. 

Most of his thoughts recently have revolved around Minhyuk. He’s just so worried about his boyfriend and everything that’s going on. Before they realised that it’s Minhyuk who’s the monster, Changkyun felt nothing but terror and dread about the whole situation, but now that he knows it’s Minhyuk, he doesn’t really feel any of that fear anymore. 

He knows he probably should. After all, the monster, even if it does share Minhyuk’s body, isn’t  _ really  _ him. Minhyuk might believe so, but Changkyun sees them as two separate entities. There’s Minhyuk, his wonderful, loving, beautiful boyfriend who would never do anything to harm him nor Kihyun, and then there’s the monster, a result of a curse on Minhyuk’s family. 

Minhyuk has no control over the monster, so Changkyun can’t see them as the same, but he also doesn’t believe that Minhyuk could ever hurt Changkyun or Kihyun, and so he doesn’t believe that the monster, even if Minhyuk doesn’t have mental control, would be able to hurt Changkyun or Kihyun either because they share a body. 

It’s confusing and it hurts Changkyun’s brain if he thinks about it too hard, but he truly believes that he’s safe with Minhyuk, even if Minhyuk doesn’t think so himself. And it worries Changkyun how Minhyuk’s feeling so down and insecure because of something he can’t help. 

He wishes he was able to convince Minhyuk of how he feels towards him, but words just don’t seem to be working, which is exactly why he decided to make this breakfast (that’s more like a brunch now). 

“Changkyunnie,” Kihyun says, bringing Changkyun out of his thoughts. “Can you pass that stuff over? Then go wake Min up, it’s almost finished.”

“Yeah, sure.” Changkyun hands over the board with the now chopped mushrooms and onion to Kihyun and then heads back up to the bedroom to wake Minhyuk up. 

When he enters the room, he finds Minhyuk fast asleep in bed still. He looks so peaceful and worry free while he sleeps that Changkyun feels bad waking him, but he’s sure Minhyuk won’t mind being woken up, especially since Kihyun’s cooked such an amazing smelling brunch for them. 

Changkyun shakes Minhyuk gently and says, “Wake up, angel.”

It takes a few seconds, but Minhyuk wakes up and blinks his eyes at Changkyun. “What time is it?” he asks. 

“Nearly 11,” Changkyun replies. 

“God, I slept late.” Minhyuk sniffs, his nose scrunching up. “What do I smell?”

“Sundubu jjigae,” Changkyun answers with a smile. “I was planning to bring you breakfast in bed, but it’s basically brunch now and also I think eating it in bed is a terrible idea.”

“Oh, definitely. These sheets would be stained so quickly.” Minhyuk looks around then asks with a frown, “Where’s Kihyun?”

“Helping me cook. Did you think I managed to make something that smells so good all on my own?”

“It’s his birthday weekend, though. Shouldn’t he be the one getting breakfast in bed.”

“His birthday is tomorrow,” Changkyun points out, “and we both agreed you need a little love right now.”

Minhyuk manages a grateful smile that actually reaches his eyes, which is a lot better than how he’s been faring for the past few days. Maybe things are finally looking up for them.

“So, you coming for brunch?” Changkyun asks. 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

* * *

Minhyuk feels his mood has lifted after his brunch with Changkyun and Kihyun. There’s still that lingering insecurity and anxiety around the whole situation, but he’s able to ignore it while he has the distraction of his boyfriends. Every second since he woke up they’ve been by his side, making sure to keep his attention focused on them, and it’s worked. 

Until, of course, they all decide to get ready for the day. When the three of them have a day off, they often end up showering together to save water and time (there’s a reason they have such a huge bathroom at home) but that isn’t possible at the cabin. The shower barely fits one person, let alone three, and so they take it in turns to shower and get ready. 

Which leaves Changkyun and Kihyun’s attention on getting ready and not on Minhyuk. And thus Minhyuk’s distraction is gone and his mood plummets when he’s left alone with his thoughts. 

All of his worries come rushing back to him the second his mind isn’t on something else. Even though he does feel better, especially since there didn’t seem to be any incident last night even though that was what he was so worried about, that doesn’t mean he can’t worry about what might happen tonight, or tomorrow night, or the night after that. 

There are just so many things that could go wrong for the three of them and Minhyuk feels the insecurities he’d fought for years to overcome resurface. His mind batters him with each of the thoughts at full force. 

_ You’re not good enough for them.  _

_ You’ll only ever bring them unhappiness.  _

_ You’re a burden.  _

_ You could never be enough.  _

Minhyuk buries his head in his hands, trying to fight against the force of the hurtful words his mind is plaguing him with, but it’s easier said than done. 

A gentle touch against his hand brings Minhyuk back to reality. He lifts up his head and sees Kihyun crouched in front of him, concern all over his face. 

“You’re not okay, are you?” 

And Minhyuk appreciates that Kihyun doesn’t bother to beat around the bush with his words. He doesn’t try and put it nicely, he just says it how it is - makes an observation. He doesn’t try and sneakily get Minhyuk to admit what they both already know, he just says it himself, and it’s an offer for Minhyuk to tell Kihyun anything he wants, or nothing at all. It’s all down to him. 

“No,” Minhyuk admits. 

Kihyun cups Minhyuk’s cheeks and kisses his forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” And in the situation that Minhyuk’s found himself in, that’s the one thing he can always be certain of - that he loves Changkyun and Kihyun and he’d do anything for the two of them. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kihyun asks, and Minhyuk knows he’s not expecting anything. 

“I think I want to be alone.” Minhyuk doesn’t want to be alone and he’s sure that Kihyun knows that too, but he’s stuck on his feelings of not being enough and being a burden and so what his mind is telling him is best is to be alone for a while.

“I’m going on a walk,” Minhyuk says. He hadn’t decided he was going to go on one until the second the words left his mouth, but now that he’s decided on it he thinks it’ll be good for him. 

Minhyuk kisses Kihyun, then kisses Changkyun when he enters the room as Minhyuk’s leaving, and then he’s gone into the outside world. 

He picks a random direction and decides to go that way and walk wherever his feet decide to take him. Minhyuk had picked this cabin purely based on the interior of it as well as the location of it and how secluded it is. Being far away from other people was his only real criteria, so he has no idea what’s actually in the surrounding area, but sometimes that’s a good thing. You can discover all sorts of secrets and wonders when you’re not trying to go anywhere specific. 

As he walks and a light breeze ruffles his hair, Minhyuk tries to focus on his senses to distract himself from the thoughts on his mind. 

Sight: the blue sky above. The field that stretches out ahead of him with flowers of all colours dotted amidst the lush green. The copse of trees in the distance, the beginnings of a forest. 

Sound: the squelch of the mud with each step he takes. The whistle of the wind when it blows slightly harder. The sound of his own breaths as they leave his mouth. 

Touch: the soft ground beneath his feet. The gentle kiss of the breeze as it blows past him. 

Smell: the sweet aftershave he’d put on - one of Kihyun’s that he’d borrowed a few spritzes of. 

Taste: the minty taste that lingers after brushing his teeth. 

It helps. He finds himself too focused on everything around him to let his mind wander and worry. 

Minhyuk reaches the forest he’d spotted in the distance and finds a worn path leading into it. He decides to follow it, to see where it leads him. 

It takes him through the forest, winding through all different trees, and then all the way to the edge of a forest where a rushing river waits for him. 

There’s an old, rickety looking bridge over the river, so Minhyuk decides to sit down on it. He hangs his legs free so they dangle above the racing water below. 

He rests his arms on the barrier of the bridge, ignoring the way the wood pokes into him and how it’ll probably leave him with splinters, and rests his chin on them, looking out at the river that stretches as far as his eye can see. 

And there, he sits and he waits. 

What he’s waiting for he doesn’t quite know, but he finds himself waiting regardless. 

* * *

“He should be back by now.”

Kihyun nods. “I know. Do you think he’s lost?”

“I don’t know, but he didn’t take his phone,” Changkyun says, holding up Minhyuk’s phone to emphasise his point. “I think we should look for him.”

“Yeah, I think we should, too,” Kihyun agrees, trying to hide how much he’s actually panicking. It’s been two hours since Minhyuk walked out of the cabin without saying where he was actually going. Kihyun knows he probably shouldn’t worry so much - Minhyuk is an adult and can take care of himself - but he just can’t help it, especially with how bad Minhyuk’s been feeling about himself with everything that’s going on. 

If only Minhyuk had taken his phone with him. 

They slip on their shoes and head out of the cabin. They leave Minhyuk’s phone behind and put the spare key under the flowerpot again in case Minhyuk returns before they come across him and so he can get back inside and let them know he’s back. (If he figures it out, anyway.)

Kihyun watched Minhyuk when he left so he knows the general direction that he went in, so he grabs Changkyun’s hand and starts to lead him in the direction that he saw Minhyuk go in. 

Luckily, as it rained overnight, there are footprints in the mud through the field which can only be Minhyuk’s, so they follow those. 

Eventually they come to a forest and Changkyun and Kihyun pause at the edge of it. “Do you think he really went through here?” Changkyun asks. 

The footprints end here, but he at least came up to the edge of the forest. “I didn’t see any footprints leading back to the cabin, so he must've come this way, right?” But even though Kihyun says it, he’s not convinced of his own words. 

“We have nothing to lose by taking a look,” Changkyun says finally. 

So, they follow the worn path through the forest, hoping it’ll lead them to Minhyuk. 

Thankfully, it does. They spot him sitting on a bridge over a river, staring out into the distance. 

Changkyun runs ahead of Kihyun, plastering himself over Minhyuk when he reaches him and kissing him all over his face. 

Kihyun sits down beside Minhyuk, hangs his legs over the edge of the bridge as Minhyuk has done, and puts a comforting hand on his thigh. “We were worried about you,” he says quietly. 

“Really worried,” Changkyun adds. He’s still hanging off of Minhyuk’s back, but Minhyuk doesn’t even seem to notice he’s there. 

He has a distant, faraway look in his eyes. 

“Min?” Kihyun prompts, gently nudging Minhyuk when he doesn’t reply. 

“Oh, yeah. Hi. Sorry.”

“Did you hear what we said?”

Minhyuk finally turns his head to look at Kihyun and it’s clear he’s been crying - his face is blotchy and his eyes are bloodshot. 

“Oh, baby,” Kihyun says and kisses Minhyuk. “You shouldn’t have come out here to cry alone. We want to be there for you.”

“I wasn’t planning on crying it just… happened,” Minhyuk says in a small voice. 

And Kihyun finds himself at a loss for words, which is unusual for him. He always seems to know the right thing to say, but now his mind fails him and he can’t come up with a single word to say. 

Changkyun, who’s now settled down beside Minhyuk instead of hanging off him, comes to the rescue instead. 

Out of his pocket he pulls two small boxes that Kihyun hadn’t seen him ever put in there - he must’ve done it when Kihyun was out of the room at some point - and hands one each to Minhyuk and Kihyun. 

“Don’t open them yet. I have something to say first,” he says. 

Kihyun holds the box tight in his hands and he has a feeling he knows what’s coming next. 

Changkyun takes a deep breath before he starts. “I was going to wait until tomorrow and do this as a kind of birthday present for Kihyun, but I hope you don’t mind me doing it early.”

Kihyun shakes his head. “Of course not. Being with both of you for a day without anyone else to distract us is all I want for my birthday tomorrow.”

Changkyun gives him a grateful smile. “When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time thinking about the day I’d get married. Obviously, I thought it’d be to a woman at the time. Being a gay ass bitch came later,” he jokes. “Anyway, it became a bit of an obsession of mine, to think about the whole thing. The proposal, planning the wedding, the actual ceremony. I was obsessed with it.

“When I found you two, I realised a traditional wedding was off the table, unless the world ever decides to acknowledge polyamorous relationships, but I never actually minded.” Changkyun gives a shy smile and Kihyun realises how terrified he is doing this whole speech, so he reaches over Minhyuk and squeezes Changkyun’s shaking hand. 

“Thanks,” Changkyun says quietly, then continues. “One thing I knew I could do, though, even if traditional marriage is off the table, is get us rings.”

Kihyun feels tears gather at the corner of his eyes.

“So, Kihyun and Minhyuk, my two soulmates who I could never live without, how’d you say we spend forever together?”

Kihyun nods his head and then looks at Minhyuk, who already has tears streaming down his face. 

“You made me cry again,” Minhyuk complains. 

“You haven’t even seen the rings yet,” Changkyun says and nods towards their boxes. 

Kihyun opens up the box and the ring he finds inside is perfect. It’s sleek and simple - a silver band with a tiny yellow crystal embedded in it. On the inside are their initials followed by the date the three of them first got together. 

Kihyun slips the ring on his finger and compares it to Minhyuk’s, who has an identical one. Changkyun also has his own ring on now - a matching set for the three of them - except his has a small red crystal instead. 

“Why are the colours different?” Kihyun asks. 

“It’s our birthstones, isn’t it?” Minhyuk questions. 

Changkyun nods. “I wanted them to be unique to us, but you two just had to go and both be November babies.”

Kihyun grins. “You wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

* * *

Minhyuk can’t stop staring at the ring on his finger. He’d been so shocked when Changkyun did his speech and presented the rings to both him and Kihyun that he hadn’t managed to say much at all, but whenever he so much as sees a glance out of the corner of his eye of the silver around his finger he feels giddy inside. 

It feels like exactly what he needed right now. He knows Changkyun and Kihyun love him, he’s never had any doubts about that, but the rings are a promise that they’ll all stay together forever no matter what happens. 

And while he has always thought that he’d spend the rest of his life with Changkyun and Kihyun, having a physical object to represent that, especially with how insecure Minhyuk’s been with finding out he’s the monster, really helps him. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Kihyun asks, nodding towards Minhyuk’s ring as he takes a seat beside him on the sofa. 

Minhyuk holds his hand up to the light, smiles at the ring and says, “Yeah, it is.”

Changkyun comes in then and sits down with them too and Minhyuk knows what’s about to come, what he’s been dreading. He’d managed to weasel his way out of the conversation at the bridge with the distraction of Changkyun giving them the rings, but he knows he can’t avoid it any longer. 

“You want to talk about everything, don’t you?” he asks. 

Changkyun nods. “We’re worried about you. We just need to figure this out together, find out what we can do to help.”

“Just talk to us, Minhyuk, tell us how you feel so we can help,” Kihyun adds. 

“I’m consumed with the fear that I’m going to hurt one or both of you and that you’re better off without me,” Minhyuk admits. “I’m afraid of what this might mean for me, and for us, and I don’t know what to do about it. The future just feels so uncertain and I hate it.”

“The lack of control is getting to you, right?” Kihyun asks. 

“Yeah, that’s exactly it,” Minhyuk says. “I feel like I have no control about my life or the direction it’s going in, because there’s this other side of me that I have  _ no  _ control over whatsoever.”

“So we take back control,” Changkyun says determinedly. 

“How do we do that?”

“We research and we figure out what we can do to rid you of this curse. We go to your family, we ask them what they know. We see if we can find your grandfather who the curse started with. We do whatever we can to figure this out and give you your life back,” Changkyun says. 

“But what if I hurt you before we figure it out? Or what if we never figure it out?” Minhyuk asks. 

“We deal with that as it comes,” Kihyun says. “But I really don’t think you’ll hurt us. I don’t think you’re capable of it.”

Minhyuk nods. He still isn’t sure about this, he’s not convinced he’ll ever feel sure or as confident as he once did, and he knows that there’ll be many, many conversations to come between them and a lot of time and effort figuring this out, but he at least feels confident in the fact that Changkyun and Kihyun will be by his side the whole way through it. 

“I love you both so much. Thank you for sticking with me,” Minhyuk says. 

Kihyun kisses him and says, “Always.” It’s spoken like a promise. 

“We’ll be by your side forever,” Changkyun reassures. “Through everything.”

“The three of us together forever,” Minhyuk says with a nod. 

And they might not have everything figured out, and the future might be uncertain, but Minhyuk feels all of the worry and fear float away when he has the promise of his life with Changkyun and Kihyun to focus on. 

The three of them can get through anything together. 

* * *

(“Stop messing my bowtie around,” Changkyun complains, slapping away Kihyun’s hands which continue to fiddle with his bowtie, his suit jacket, his shirt, anything he can get his hands on. 

“I can’t let you walk out on our wedding day looking scruffy,” Kihyun insists, his hands still attempting to fix Changkyun’s appearance. 

Minhyuk approaches them and grabs Kihyun’s hands, bringing them away from Changkyun. “He looks fine. You both do.”

Kihyun sighs. “I’m just so nervous.”

“Come on, it could be worse,” Minhyuk says with a smile. “Is getting married to us that bad?”

Kihyun rolls his eyes. “Not technically married.”

“Married  _ enough _ ,” Changkyun says. “We might not have the paperwork, but I think the wedding experience is what counts.”

“At least we decided the venue will be our garden,” Minhyuk says, laughing slightly. “If you really hate it that bad you can go hide in our bedroom.”

“Both of you are the worst. Go get married to each other and I’m going to stay right here.”

“You love us really,” Minhyuk singsongs, pulling Kihyun towards the door. 

“Let’s go get married already,” Changkyun complains impatiently, marching on ahead of them. 

Minhyuk smiles at his boyfriends - his soon-to-be-husbands (except not exactly legally, but details) - and everything feels right in the world.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's the end!! thank u all for reading!!! i know the ending is rather vague, but i thought it fit best as an open ending

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading!!! kudos n comments r very much appreciated <333
> 
> twitter: [@changkihyks](http://twitter.com/changkihyks/)  
> cc: [changkihyks](https://curiouscat.me/changkihyks?t=1559413679/)  
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